Blinding Light
by Moiraine Lendreth
Summary: Can illusion be reality? Is reality merely illusion? When a strange genjutsu makes Sasuke 'fall in love' with Naruto, these questions are put to the test. Warning: NaruSasu
1. Chapter 1

Blinding Light

**Blinding Light**

_A Naruto Fanfiction, Sequel to "Wrapped in More than Kindness"_

_Author's Notes: Well folks, I know not very many people asked for a sequel. But heck, I want to do one. So yeah, here it is… please don't forget to review after reading!_

_Warnings and Disclaimers: All Naruto names, places, and related indicia are copyright to Masashi Kishimoto. Only the plot and the writing style are mine. This story is rated M for language, graphic sexual scenes, and mature themes. It is also a yaoi fiction, which implies a boy x boy pairing: Naruto and Sasuke. If neither is to your liking, please press the back button._

_Summary: Can illusion be reality? Or is reality merely an illusion? When a strange genjutsu makes Uchiha Sasuke 'fall in love' with Naruto, the answers become an epiphany that will alter them forever…but is it for bad or good?_

**Chapter 1**

Uzumaki Naruto stumbled out of bed and straight to the bathroom. He peered into the mirror, staring at his red-rimmed bleary eyes, tousled spikes of yellow hair, and thought: _I look like shit_.

Not really the best way to start the day.

_This is all that damn bastard Sasuke's fault._ Naruto grabbed his toothbrush and began brushing his teeth, glaring at his reflection in the mirror. Fucking teme…not only did he manage to plague Naruto every waking minute with his 'I'm an Uchiha and you're a nobody' attitude, but he had to pester him in his dreams, too! Naruto unconsciously flushed as he remembered exactly why Sasuke was to blame for his restless night.

_If I bring you another bowl of the stuff, do I get another kiss?_

Naruto spat into the sink with more force than necessary, as if spitting would make Sasuke's voice stop from echoing inside his head. He growled low against his throat as he washed his face vigorously with cold water. Stupid teme! Teme! Teme! TEME!

He closed his eyes and took several calming breaths. _Sasuke would never ask something like that…he was just trying to psych you out Naruto. That's right._ Naruto opened his eyes and stared at the mirror, nodding once. _Yes, the teme just wanted to faze you, because you beat him and he wanted to even the score somehow._ He pointedly ignored the fact that their spar yesterday had ended in more or less a draw. Feeling more confident of his logic, Naruto began to dress, his mood considerably lighter. Now that he thought about it, he shouldn't have let Sasuke's words affect him so much; he was a shinobi, wasn't he? Small stuff like this shouldn't be able to affect him at all.

_Which only goes to show that I'm still behind Sasuke. How could I have been so stupid not to have seen through it?_ Naruto frowned, hating the fact that he was duped, once again, by the only person he saw as his rival and friend. How can he even hope to become Hokage in the future if he couldn't even match the Uchiha?

Well, there's only one thing for it. Naruto resolutely took several jutsu scrolls he'd stashed in one of the low shelves in his apartment and threw them into a bag, deciding to practice and learn them today. Heck, he was going to train _all day_ until he could at least perfect one new technique. "I'll show that teme," Naruto grumbled as he hefted the bag and strapped on his kunai pouch. "The next time I fight him, I'll win for sure."

NxS NxS NxS

Hugging the scrolls closer against her chest, Haruno Sakura weaved through the crowds in the street, deftly picking a path through the throng. It was a Saturday, so the market area was naturally filled with people, but the pink-haired gennin knew this route would take her near the Uchiha compound, and that was what mattered.

As she neared the corner, Sakura turned hopeful eyes to the right, half-expecting to see Sasuke languidly walking out of the alley and into the main street, his face wearing a bored expression. But, like always, there was no Sasuke. Sakura sighed, her eyes lingering on the alley's entrance. Ah well. There was always the chance that tomorrow would be different, right?

BAM.

The impact was so sudden and unexpected that Sakura landed on her butt, and she was dazed for several moments before dull pain hiked her temperature up by several notches. When she looked up and saw who had crashed into her, she boiled over, her sea-green eyes ablaze. "Watch where you're going, Naruto!"

Naruto's blue eyes disappeared into a sheepish grin as he scratched the back of his head, sitting on the ground like Sakura was. "Ah, I'm really sorry Sakura-chan. I was reading something and I wasn't looking at where I was going."

"Obviously," Sakura bit out as she stood up. She cursed under her breath when she saw the scrolls she had been carrying all lying on the ground, some of them unfurled, the fine, aged prints inside smudged with dirt. "Just great," she rolled her eyes and began picking them up, muttering about her bad luck and stupid blonds.

Naruto frowned about the blond comment but did not speak. Instead he stood up and helped her, picking up the scrolls and handing them to her. Sakura accepted them with a grudging 'thanks'. Naruto smiled; at least Sakura didn't seem very angry now. Naruto picked up another scroll, the one he had been reading, lying near Sakura. He quickly rolled it up and put it away as he grinned at her. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, just forget about it," Sakura sighed as she counted to see if there was a scroll missing. Finding everything was still there, she took in Naruto's backpack. "Where are you going?"

"I'm training by myself today," Naruto puffed out his chest with pride. "I have to train if I want to become Hokage!"

By experience, Sakura knew that whatever she said, it wouldn't affect Naruto's determination to do something once he had set his mind to it, so she merely smiled. "Ah. Well, Kakashi-sensei isn't going to meet us today, so I guess that's fine."

Naruto nodded, agreeing with her. His grin faded somewhat when he took in the presence of the scrolls in Sakura's hands. "Eh, what're the scrolls for, Sakura-chan? You're going training, too?"

"These?" Sakura held up her arms a bit. "Oh no, I'm just delivering them for my mother. They're from the Hokage's office."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Are they jutsu scrolls?"

"No, you baka. They're just old scrolls."

"Have you read them?"

"No," Sakura frowned. Sometimes Naruto can be a bit too nosy for his own good. "I overheard my mother say they're about a bunch of old nonsense, confiscated from a scamming thief way back. I think my grandmother borrowed these ages ago, and my mom wanted to give them back."

"Oh, I see," Naruto looked at the scrolls a moment longer before turning to smile at her. "Well, I'd better be going now! See you later Sakura-chan!"

"Yeah," Sakura couldn't help but smile back. Same old Naruto…he's always such a loudmouthed ball of energy. She gave a small wave at Naruto's quickly retreating figure, before setting her shoulders determinedly and heading off in the direction of the Hokage's office.

NxS NxS NxS

Uchiha Sasuke woke up feeling very unusual. He sat up in bed, thinking about it. He cast his eyes around his room, trying to figure out why. Only when his eyes found the framed picture of Team Seven with Kakashi on the drawer nearby did his lips curve in the slightest of smiles, remembering.

_Oh yes, that's right. I scored a point against Naruto yesterday._

As far as Sasuke knew, no one was really tallying up the score between him and Naruto, but he was confident in the fact that he was still way ahead of the usuratonkatchi. What's more, his 'victory' over Naruto just yesterday only proved he was superior in every way. A smug smile crept into Sasuke's face as he got off the bed and went to take a shower.

_The look on the dobe's face yesterday…_ Sasuke relished in the image of Naruto looking downright embarrassed by Sasuke's words. He had been so flustered he couldn't even speak. _If that's all it takes to make Naruto loose focus, winning against him will be a piece of cake._

Sasuke mechanically went through his morning routine, leaving the house immediately right after. He didn't want to admit it, but Sasuke did not like to spend a minute more inside of his house than absolutely necessary. He always ate out, too. A small voice inside his head said he was just running away, but Sasuke pointedly ignored it.

Putting on a cold, unconcerned look, Sasuke walked down narrow alleys until he emerged into the main thoroughfare, hoping not to bump into anyone who knew him—or worse, Sakura or Ino. Sasuke liked his privacy and solitude, no matter what people said. He didn't really see the point of small talk or maintaining friendships with people who had not the slightest idea of who he was or what he had been through. Worse than the ignorance, however, was the pity. He wasn't some pathetic little kid who needed pity; he was a ninja, and he'd be damn if he was weak!

"Penny for your thoughts, Sasuke?"

The youngest Uchiha whirled around quickly, moving into a defensive stance. His eyes narrowed. "Kakashi. Hasn't anyone told you sneaking up on people might get you killed?"

Kakashi's one visible eye was crinkled into what Sasuke guessed was a smile. "No, not that I can remember. Hasn't anyone told you that you should talk to your elders with more respect?"

"Hn." Sasuke turned around and kept on walking, knowing Kakashi would follow. A streak of irritation made Sasuke scowl; how could Kakashi move undetected? He absently considered asking the copy ninja to teach him to move as stealthily as he did, while Kakashi himself walked at Sasuke's pace beside him, reading his Icha Icha Paradise book while doing so.

"So where are you going?"

"To eat," Sasuke replied curtly, not looking at Kakashi.

"And after that?"

"Training."

"By yourself?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Not really. So what happened with Naruto the other day?"

Sasuke missed a step. He turned a scowl at Kakashi, who was so intent at reading his stupid book that Sasuke almost bought the act. Almost. Was Kakashi spying on him? "What do you mean?" he asked in a neutral tone.

"We were talking about how Iruka had forgotten it had been Naruto's birthday yesterday, and then you suddenly disappear." Kakashi stole a quick glance at Sasuke. "It doesn't take a half-wit ninja to figure it out."

Sasuke continued walking; making sure his face and his voice betrayed nothing. "We sparred."

"Oh? Who won?"

Sasuke couldn't help smirking. "I did."

"Really…" Kakashi turned a page in his book. He hid a knowing smile behind the cover. "So that's why Naruto's taken it upon himself to train today."

Sasuke remained silent, waiting for Kakashi to continue. Finally he did, when he realized Sasuke wasn't talking. "I met Sakura this morning. She bumped into Naruto earlier, said he'd be training alone today."

"Naruto always trains by himself unless you call for us," Sasuke pointed out.

"True, but he seemed more energetic than usual." Kakashi chuckled. "I guess my hunch was right."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow mildly, but did not comment. He didn't particularly care what went on in Kakashi's perverted mind. He had a feeling he'd be better off not knowing. Instead he led the way to the small tea house he frequented for his meals. It was a ways from the Uchiha compound, and it usually had only a trickle of customers: the two main reasons why Sasuke chose to eat there most of the time.

When they arrived, Kakashi went off, saying he had important things to do, plus a mission for the Hokage. "Just reconnaissance, but I'll be gone for the rest of the day. Tell Sakura and Naruto. The Hokage says we'll be doing another mission when I get back, so meet me at Ichiraku's tomorrow at seven in the morning."

After assuring Kakashi he'd tell them, Sasuke was left to enjoy his breakfast in peace, much to his relief. As he ate, Sasuke toyed with the idea of training. He could do stamina training; that would help him build up his chakra reserves so he could do the Chiidori more than two times in succession. It was his strongest technique so far, but he didn't have enough strength to maintain the technique for very long.

_Or_, a small voice inside his head interrupted, _you could see how Naruto's been doing so far_.

Why not? Sasuke couldn't see any downside to this plan. He'd be able to assess just how far Naruto had progressed already, and gauge his own progress with the dobe's. Plus, he'd get another chance to push Naruto's nose down in the dust…it was perfect.

It wasn't difficult to locate where Naruto was training. All Sasuke needed to do was open up his senses to search for Naruto's chakra signature, and keep his ears perked to detect the dobe's loud, annoying voice. Within minutes he had found him, training near the edge of Konoha forest.

Sasuke stealthily jumped to the canopy of a large tree nearby, crouching down without making a sound. Naruto did not even look up as Sasuke settled himself on a high branch, watching. _Too easy_, Sasuke thought smugly to himself.

Naruto had his back to Sasuke, but it was clear from his posture and the way his chakra was being manipulated that Naruto was trying to perform a jutsu. The more Sasuke watched, the more he was sure Naruto was practicing a genjutsu, although exactly what the illusionary technique was supposed to do Sasuke wasn't sure.

Naruto was using a shadow clone to perform the genjutsu on. The clone was standing about five paces away from Naruto, yawning from boredom and watching the real Naruto with a slight frown. "Haven't you gotten the hang of it yet?"

"I can do this!" Naruto snapped, apparently ticked off. Sasuke smirked inwardly. Naruto's weakest point had always been genjutsu, even at the Academy.

The clone scratched its head and looked dubiously at Naruto. "I bet I can learn that quicker than you."

"Shut up!" Naruto growled against his throat as he did the hand signs again. Sasuke saw, with the aid of his Sharingan, how Naruto's chakra flared blue for a moment before returning to its normal state. "Damn it! I've checked a hundred times and I'm sure I'm doing this right. So why isn't it working?!"

The clone was now squatting on the grass, one hand supporting his head. "What's the genjutsu supposed to do?"

"It's supposed to make you numb and freeze up," Naruto replied, going through the signs again. "Feel anything different?"

The clone shook his head. "Nope. Better try again."

Naruto cursed loudly, scratching at his head in frustration. Sasuke, curious about the genjutsu, moved to hide in another tree, where he could see Naruto's hands clearly. He wanted to identify the genjutsu as Naruto made the seals, and maybe learn the technique himself.

As Sasuke settled into another tree, the clone made an irritated sigh. "You should forget about it. I'd much prefer if we looked for the Ero-sennin and ask him to teach us something new."

"Just wait a sec, I know I've got this." Naruto wiped away a trickle of sweat from his brow and readied his hands, mentally running through the order of hand signs he had to go through.

Hidden safely up the tree, Sasuke watched Naruto intently, his Sharingan still active. Naruto's hands moved quickly, but Sasuke could see each sign clearly and memorized it in his mind. Naruto's chakra rushed through his hands and out his outstretched palms in one quick, sharp burst, forming a ball of chakra that hung suspended in mid-air. Naruto and his clone stared at the chakra ball with identical looks of confusion.

"What the hell?" Naruto frowned. "I don't think this genjutsu's supposed to do this." He poked the chakra ball with a finger.

The floating sphere of chakra glowed white for a moment after Naruto touched it, then shot upwards quick as light, into the trees. Naruto and his clone could only gasp as the thing sped off, surprised. They were even more surprised to see someone fall from the trees, where the ball of chakra had gone.

Dismissing his clone, Naruto ran towards the fallen figure, only to find Uchiha Sasuke sprawled on the ground. Naruto's first reaction was to see if Sasuke had broken anything, and he immediately rushed to his side, the genjutsu momentarily forgotten. "Are you alright?"

Sasuke's reply was a groan as he stirred, sitting up slowly. Naruto felt his arms, his legs…nothing seemed to be sprained or anything, but Sasuke stiffened everytime Naruto touched him. Bruised, then, but no broken bones. Naruto wordlessly helped him stand up then stepped back, knowing how touchy Sasuke was with being helped. "You can stand, can't you?"

Sasuke grunted. The fall had done nothing damaging, but his head was starting to throb. He put a hand to his temple. "I'm fine," he muttered, and looked up at Naruto, who was scowling at him, his eyes darkening dangerously. "What?"

"Teme, what were you doing?" Naruto bit out, crossing his arms in front of him. "Were you spying on me?"

"As if I'd learn anything from watching you," Sasuke managed to smirk, ignoring the dull pain spreading in his skull. "You can't even do the genjutsu properly."

Naruto's nostrils flared, his eyes a bright blue blaze. "So you _were_ spying!" he said angrily.

"Was not," Sasuke snapped. The dull pain in his head was fast becoming a full-blown headache, and this argument with Naruto was not helping matters any. "I'm leaving," he said as Naruto opened his mouth to speak. Sasuke began to walk away.

"I'm not done talking to you!" Naruto snarled, his hand whipping out to grab Sasuke's arm.

Blinding light flashed in Sasuke's eyes, pain blooming in his head, and he gave a sharp cry, swaying on his feet. With sheer force of will Sasuke managed to stay upright, gritting his teeth as the pain and the light flared for an instant that felt like eternity before slowly ebbing away.

Naruto's angry grip loosened when he saw Sasuke stagger, and he watched his team mate and friend warily. Sasuke had his eyes closed, breathing in measured counts through his nose. "Sasuke? What's wrong?"

Naruto's voice seemed far way. Sasuke could not understand what Naruto was saying, but he concentrated on the sound, trying to fight off unconsciousness. The pain was finally lessening to an extent, but then something else was happening. Sasuke could feel warmth spread from his chest, reaching to his skull and the tips of his toes. He frowned inwardly. What the hell was happening?

"Oi, teme, talk to me." Naruto was now shaking him lightly by the shoulders. Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, locking his knees rigidly to keep from swaying. Bright blue eyes shimmering with concern filled his vision, and Sasuke's breath hitched in his throat.

Before Sasuke could think, before he could completely regain his senses, his body moved of its own accord. He didn't even have a chance to protest as his own hands shot out and grabbed the front of Naruto's jacket, pulled him closer, and pressed their lips together.

For one moment Naruto froze, stunned, as he felt Sasuke's lips on his, and smelled Sasuke's scent so close to him. Then alarm bells rang shrilly inside his head, stirring him to action. He pushed Sasuke away roughly, feeling the blood rising to his cheeks. He opened his mouth several times to speak, but no words came out. Inside his head, though, three words kept repeating themselves: oh…my…god…

Sasuke staggered back, dazed, until the reality of what he had just done began to sink in. He whipped around to look at Naruto; he did not realize that his headache had mysteriously disappeared. "Did…did I just…?"

Naruto's shocked expression gave way to murderous anger. "What the fuck was that for, you bastard?!"

Sasuke swallowed hard, feeling the fringes of panic. He stepped back. "I…" The scene flashed again before his eyes. He had pulled Naruto flush against his own body and kissed him. "Look, Naruto…" He had kissed him. Kissed—! "I didn't…"

Naruto's only response was to growl dangerously low, his face a frightening resemblance of a very pissed fox just waiting for the right moment before it ripped him to shreds.

Sasuke's breathing became labored as his heart hammered against his chest. The world began to dip and tilt dangerously around him. He looked at Naruto, his eyes a darkened blue, demanding for an answer that Sasuke could not give.

Naruto watched as, in an un-Uchiha-like behavior, Sasuke turned and ran away. The blond gennin bristled. "OI! SASUKE-TEME! Get your pale ass back _here!_" he yelled, and prepared to follow. But he stopped at the last moment; he was fast, but Sasuke was faster. If the youngest Uchiha did not want to be found, no one—in Naruto's private opinion—would be able to.

The image of Sasuke's face as Naruto bore down on him came unbidden in his mind. It was the first time Naruto had seen him look genuinely at a loss; it was unnerving. Sasuke had always been the epitome of self-possession and confidence. Naruto looked up at the direction Sasuke had run off to, shook his head, and sighed.

The Ero-Sennin once told him that it was sometimes better to think things through before deciding to take action. Well, this one was definitely one of those times. Naruto let himself down on the grass, lying spread-eagled on the forest floor. He frowned at the canopy above, ignoring the way his lips still throbbed. "The teme had better have an explanation next time we meet."

NxS NxS NxS

_End of Chapter 1._

_Please send in your reviews and tell me what you think: should I continue the story? :) Your reviews would help me a lot._


	2. Chapter 2

Blinding Light

**Blinding Light**

_A Naruto Fanfiction, Sequel to "Wrapped in More than Kindness"_

_Author's Notes: I've only just finished the plotline for this story, and I was quite shocked to find it might actually run for more than fifteen chapters! Depending on the ending I want to give, it might even extend until the twenties mark. Feel free to send in your suggestions through PMs, but please do not send flames, because they would only end up as fuel to warm my bath._

_Warnings and Disclaimers: All Naruto names, places, and related indicia are copyright to Masashi Kishimoto. Only the plot and the writing style are mine. This story is rated M for language, graphic sexual scenes, and mature themes. It is also a yaoi fiction, which implies a boy x boy pairing: Naruto and Sasuke. If neither is to your liking, please press the back button._

**Chapter 2**

Sasuke ran through the tree tops, pumping chakra into his legs furiously; the landscape blurred and sped past him in a whirl, but Sasuke did not see it. He only saw himself roughly pulling Naruto and kissing him with almost enough force to bruise. The scene kept replaying in his mind over and over again like a horrible motion picture, and he closed his eyes tightly, willing the images away, to no effect.

What was worse was that Sasuke could remember exactly what he felt. It had been only a moment, but the need, the _want_ for Naruto had been so strong it would have choked him to death if his body had not moved. Sasuke shuddered at the memory, and it urged him to run faster. He had to get away. The logical part of him added that he had to clear his head and analyze the situation carefully, but for now panic made Sasuke move.

As he broke through the tree line Sasuke could see the edge of the village. With a last burst of speed he landed on a rooftop, where his legs finally gave way. He sank to his knees, using his arms to push him up, panting heavily. Sweat dripped down the red ceramic roof tiles as he fought to regain his breath. Sasuke was vaguely surprised to find he was already out of breath; he couldn't have run for more than three miles. It must have been the shock, and his little panic attack.

Something inside of him knew that wasn't the whole of it.

When he had calmed enough and his heart had ceased trying to break free of his chest, Sasuke went down the roof and onto the street discreetly, slipping into the throng of people making their way through without anyone noticing. He kept up a mildly unconcerned look with an effort, while his eyes darted this way and that, hoping not to see the telltale signs of vibrant orange or spiky blond hair anywhere. The thought made Sasuke's heart skip a beat, but only for a moment, as he turned his focus back onto the street.

When he turned around the corner, Sasuke mentally cursed his bad luck. Just within hailing distance was Haruno Sakura, and from the bright smile and cheerful wave she was sending in his general direction, Sasuke knew she had spotted him.

Resigned to the inevitable, Sasuke continued walking in the same direction, keeping his expression carefully blank. He kept his hands in his pockets. "Hey."

"How are you today, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's cheeks went slightly pink as she smiled shyly at Sasuke.

"Fine, " Sasuke replied curtly, still keeping an eye out—his heart did another funny little skip—for Naruto.

Sakura though, was inwardly squealing in delight at her good fortune. She gave Sasuke her cutest smile. "I'm not really doing anything today, Sasuke, so um…would you like to eat somewhere with me? My treat!"

Sasuke gave an absent-minded 'hn', still watching everywhere, and Sakura took this as a 'yes'. She clapped her hands in delight, leading the way, while launching into an overly enthusiastic description of the many reasons why the tea house they would be visiting was one of the best in Konoha.

While they walked, Sakura noticed that she was the only one doing the talking. Oh, Sasuke was still paying attention—he nodded and made that funny little 'hn' noise in all the right places—but Sakura knew, from the long time she had been watching him, that his mind was a world away. So she tried to change the subject.

"I was out doing errands for my mother this morning," she began, glancing at Sasuke. "How about you?"

"I was…around." Sakura saw the way Sasuke's brows had furrowed into a frown for a moment, before it disappeared just as quickly. And she could almost swear his eyes had shifted.

"Well," Sakura began again, not wanting to end the conversation that quickly. "My mother wanted me to return scrolls to the Hokage's office." She sighed and took a scroll from her pouch. "It was just my bad luck Naruto's scroll got mixed up with mine. So now I have to return this to him and get mine back. It's really annoying, when I don't…Sasuke?" Sakura stopped walking when she saw Sasuke was three paces behind her, frozen on the spot with an unreadable expression on his face. She frowned worriedly. "Is…something wrong?"

Sasuke was now boring his dark eyes into her sharply. "I want to see the scroll."

Sakura gave it to him, now slightly confused. She kept silent though, as Sasuke opened the scroll deftly and scanned it with a slight frown. The frown, Sakura noticed, slowly became a scowl as Sasuke got further. Then he closed the scroll with a snap, cursing under his breath.

Sakura was now truly worried. Sasuke looked—no, he was definitely angry about something. "What is it?"

"What was the scroll, about? The one you had to return?" Sasuke snapped at her, glaring.

Sakura was suddenly terrified of Sasuke. "I…well…" she stammered, unable to think straight.

"What was it about?!"

"I don't know!" Sakura answered quickly. "It was something my grandmother borrowed ages ago—I didn't even read any of it." She lowered her eyes to the ground, biting her lip to keep from sniffing. "I just know that they're really old stuff."

Sasuke cursed inwardly when he saw Sakura trying hard not to cry. Raking a hand impatiently through his hair he said, "Look, Sakura, I'm sorry if I yelled at you. I'm just…I have a lot of things on my mind." He tried to make his voice even. "By the way, Kakashi said we'll be meeting him at seven in the morning in front of Ichiraku's."

Sakura nodded, smiling weakly. She watched Sasuke leave, feeling slightly better, even though her planned date with Sasuke had been foiled.

NxS NxS NxS

It was already past lunch when Naruto decided to return to the village and get something to eat. Preferably ramen; he remembered Kakashi-sensei telling him to eat more fruits and vegetables to keep his body in tiptop shape, but the very thought of vegetables made him sick. And ramen had bits of green stuff sometimes, right? That would count as vegetables, too.

Ichiraku's Ramen Shop was the only place Naruto would ever go to for his daily supply of (to his opinion) Kami-sent food. He pushed away the flap that covered the front of the shop, a huge, anticipating grin on his place. "Yo old man! A big bowl of the usual for me!"

The ramen shop's proprietor gave Naruto his own grin, giving him a thumbs-up sign with a chuckle. "One order of ramen coming up!" He began straining the noodles as Naruto sat on his favorite seat, already rubbing his hands. A sudden thought hit him. "Oh yeah, kid. I just remembered; about the huge take-out ramen order from the other day." He placed the drained noodles in one of his large, ceramic white bowls and began putting the toppings on. "Your friend gave it to you, right?"

Because he was busy preparing the ramen, he didn't notice Naruto's grin slip a few notches. "Oh…that. I—yeah, he gave it to me." Naruto fought to keep from blushing; he suddenly found the counter top very interesting.

"So what was the occasion?"

Naruto lowered his voice a bit, but the old man heard just the same. "My birthday."

"Oho! So it was your birthday. You little runt, why'd you not tell me?" The old man ladled hot broth onto the bowl and put it down in front of Naruto. "Then I'll let you have this bowl free of charge. My present for ya, kid."

Naruto's smile returned ten-fold, his eyes shimmering. "You're giving this for free?!"

"Just this one bowl," the old man said, in mock seriousness. Then he laughed. "If I gave you ramen for free even for just one afternoon I'll be out of business!"

All thoughts of problems and Sasuke vanished from Naruto's head at the prospect of free ramen, even if it was just one extra-large bowl. Two birthday presents in one year; hey, he was starting to get lucky! After thanking the old man in energetic profusion Naruto ate the ramen with much enthusiasm, almost as if he was inhaling the entire thing in one breath.

Just as he was about to order again the ramen shop's flap opened to reveal Sakura's bubblegum pink hair and sea-green eyes. It was then that Naruto truly believed his luck was beginning to turn. Hastily wiping his mouth with his jacket sleeve he grinned heartily at her. "Sakura-chan! Are you here to eat ramen, too? Come on, sit with me!" He patted the seat next to him.

Sakura gave him a smile, but shook her head. "No, thanks." She eyed the large bowl Naruto had only just finished with. "How can you stand to eat ramen day and night, Naruto? You might get sick one of these days."

"Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed, shocked and scandalized. "Ramen's the best food in the world! Heck, I could eat ramen for the rest of my life and be content. And this here shop's got the best-tasting ramen anywhere," he ended with a grin, which made the old proprietor laugh.

Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "Well, you can't say I didn't warn you. And before I forget…" She rummaged through her pouch bag and took out a scroll, handing it to Naruto. "Here. This is yours."

Naruto looked at the scroll in confusion. "What? But I've got all my scrolls right here." He patted the backpack still hanging on his shoulders."

Sakura scowled at him, and opened the scroll in her hands, turning it so that Naruto could read what was inside. "This," she said flatly, "is a genjutsu for immobilizing an enemy. Definitely NOT the scroll I was supposed to return to the Hokage's office."

Naruto scanned the top part of the scroll, reading what it contained. "Hey! This was the genjutsu I was practicing this morning when—" he cut off and frowned. "So then…the scroll I was reading was…"

Sakura sighed again. "Probably mine. Can I have it back now?"

So that's why it didn't work. A pang of guilt made Naruto flinch inwardly. And I actually hit Sasuke with it and made him fall off the tree! Shit, was that why he suddenly…suddenly…

Sakura tilted her head, arching an eyebrow. Naruto's face had slackened, and she could see his cheeks coloring perceptibly. "Naruto? My scroll?" Naruto stirred and nodded, rummaging through his backpack silently. He handed Sakura a scroll, who took it with a slight frown. "Is something the matter?"

Her question pulled Naruto roughly out of his thoughts, and he quickly plastered a goofy smile on his face, scratching the back of his head in a sheepish manner. "Sorry, I kind of spaced out."

Sakura was not thoroughly convinced, but she let it pass. Opening the scroll, she breathed a sigh of relief when she scanned the first few lines. "Oh good, this _is_ the scroll I was looking for. My mom would kill me if I lost it." She pocketed the scroll and gave Naruto a smile. "Later, Naruto. Oh, and Sasuke said Kakashi-sensei wants to meet us tomorrow at seven a.m. right here." She stopped and frowned at him. "Hey, Naruto, are you listening?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Seven in the morning right here. I got it." He grinned at her again.

Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly at him. "Why is everyone acting so weird today?"

Naruto tried his best to look innocent. "What do you mean, Sakura-chan?"

"You're spacing out, and when I saw Sasuke earlier he looked really pissed." She gave Naruto a sharp glare as she connected the pieces together. "Did you two fight again? Kakashi-sensei told us to work as a team, not fight against each other."

"We didn't fight!" Naruto answered in all honesty.

"Hmm," Sakura raced her eyebrow again, definitely suspicious. "Well, just don't be late for tomorrow."

Naruto snorted. "Like Kakashi's gonna be here on time…OW!" He yelped in pain when Sakura's fist connected with the back of his head.

Sakura glared at him. "That's no excuse for you to be late," she snapped. With a final hissing warning she left the ramen shop with her nose in the air, leaving Naruto to nurse the slight bump on his head.

"Kid," the ramen shop's proprietor sighed, "you ought to learn when you should keep that big mouth of your shut."

Naruto grumbled under his breath. "I didn't say anything wrong. 'T was the truth…"

The old man sighed again as he began preparing another bowl of ramen to comfort Naruto.

NxS NxS NxS

Sasuke watched as Sakura walked stiffly out of the ramen shop, clearly pissed. He was hidden at a safe distance, on top of a small billboard ad in the rooftops of Konoha. He couldn't help smirking; he'd bet all his money Naruto had said something stupid again to make Sakura angry. A jolt of electricity shot up his spine as he mentally said Naruto's name. His smirk quickly turned into a scowl, and he cursed under his breath, leaping across roofs as he followed Sakura.

As he went, Sasuke couldn't help but disparage Sakura's ability to sense that she was being followed. He wasn't even trying to hide his chi! He sniffed, slightly put down by the fact that tracking Sakura wasn't going to be a challenge at all. He could just get down there and offer to accompany her, if not for the strange reason that the very thought of being with the pink-haired gennin was unbearable. Sasuke blinked. Unbearable? He was annoyed whenever Sakura tried to flirt with him but…he had never hated her this much before.

He pushed the disturbing thought away for the time being and kept a close eye on Sakura, who was—as he had guessed earlier—going in the direction of the Hokage's office. He stopped on the bright green rooftop of a small grocery store, considering his options. He could just steal the scroll from Sakura right now, or he could sneak into the Hokage's office later. He smirked as Sakura's pink hair came into his view.

That decision was easy. Which one was more challenging?

NxS NxS NxS

Tsunade could feel a migraine coming. She was sure of it. Slamming the scrolled report of Konoha's trade traffic on her table, she leaned back and closed her eyes. "At the rate I'm going, I'm not gonna be finished for another ten years reading all this stupid reports."

There was a knock on her door before Shizune's head popped out, looking at Tsunade worriedly. "I thought I heard a noise."

Tsunade grunted, rubbing her temples. "Get me some sake, will you Shizune?"

Her assistant frowned, glancing at the clock hanging on one of the walls. It was already two thirty in the morning. "Wouldn't it be better if I made you tea instead?"

Tsunade opened a hard eye and glared at Shizune. "Sake," she ordered in a low, warning tone.

"Right." The door closed with a soft click. Although Tsunade couldn't hear, she knew Shizune would be muttering about the inappropriateness of drinking alcohol and lack of sleep. Oh, Shizune can gripe all she wants, but Tsunade was still Hokage, and that was that.

As Tsunade waited for her sake, there was a small poof as a jounin-level shinobi appeared in front of her formidable desk, bowing. "Hokage-sama, someone is trying to sneak into the archives section."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. There were no important documents or scrolls in the archives section; it was merely a storage area for history records and really old, outdated jutsus nobody bothered with anymore. The documents on missions and secret information acquired through reconnaissance were all hidden here, at the Hokage tower. "Who?" she asked.

The jounin shifted his footing. "Uchiha Sasuke."

Now both of Tsunade's eyebrows were raised. What the hell was the kid planning to do? All she knew about the Uchiha was that he was Kakashi's protégé of sorts, and that he was part of Naruto's team. And most importantly, that he was carrying Orochimaru's cursed seal. All but the last one mattered little. Granted, the curse seal had been temporarily contained by Kakashi, but still…

When Tsunade did not answer, the jounin spoke. "Should we take him into custody, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade shifted her eyes to him. After a while she said, "No, but keep an eye on him."

"But Hokage-sama…"

Tsunade waved a hand. "We all know the archives don't have anything dangerous. But I want you to report to me exactly what he did in the archives. Go."

The jounin, startled at being dismissed so quickly, bowed again and murmured his assent. He disappeared with another poof. Tsunade frowned at the spot he had been standing on.

She stayed like that for a good five minutes before shaking her head. She would deal with Uchiha Sasuke later, after the jounin reported. It would be useless to speculate nay further without more information. She grabbed the papers lying in front of her, and in a few moments her thoughts were completely occupied with numbers and figures, Sasuke's strange behavior momentarily forgotten.

NxS NxS NxS

Later that night, inside his own bedroom, Sasuke reeled back in shock, dropping the scroll on the floor. The words he had just read echoed inside his head, making him sick to his stomach, his throat suddenly dry. He eyed the scroll on the floor with undisguised horror.

This is not happening.

Sasuke blinked furiously, wiping his hand across his brow. He was surprised to find sweat on his hand; this seemed to shake him out, clearing his head. He immediately assumed a jutsu performing stance, and put his hands together. "Kai!"

He could feel his chakra give out a short burst, spreading through his system. He gritted his teeth, praying this would work. But even as he said it he could feel the dispelling technique melt away like mist on sunlight, as if something stopped it from taking effect, like a screen draped over his skin. Gritting his teeth, he tried again. "Kai!"

Still, nothing.

"Kai!" Again. "KAI!" And again. "KAI!" Sasuke almost screamed himself hoarse, trying to dispel the genjutsu again and again, until sweat ran in rivulets down his back, dripping from his chin, his chakra depleting slowly.

Finally Sasuke crumpled to his knees, panting hard, his hands the only things that kept him from dropping straight to the floor. Everytime he took a gulp of air the floor seemed to tilt violently, and he swayed on the spot. His mind could not wrap around the truth of what had happened that morning, of what had happened to _him_.

After a few more moments of being crouched on all fours, Sasuke could not take it any longer. Pushing himself up off the floor he ran to the bathroom and threw up every meal he had ever had. He came out of the toilet paler and clammier, but at least the world did not tilt and dip precariously anymore.

As he sat down at the edge of his bed, the scroll caught his eye again. He bent to pick it up, glaring at it as he did so, reading the last few lines on the scroll.

_The use of this genjutsu, however, must be accompanied with great caution. Although studied into carefully, its effects can vary, and no known technique has been developed to counter it._

And right below that paragraph, stamped in bright red ink: obsolete and highly dangerous.

Sasuke fought the urge to tear the entire thing into shreds; the logical part of his mind said the scroll might be useful later on. But first, he had to do something about the genjutsu's effect on his person.

His hand unconsciously gripped the scroll tighter as Sasuke considered his options, each one bleaker than the last. He really had no one with whom he could trust with telling his predicament, which left him with very few alternatives.

His mouth quirked into a humorless smile. Such irony that a person born with the bloodline limit to create illusions, and to pierce through those illusions, would fall for such a paltry genjutsu that required little effort for anyone to do. Even an idiot could do it.

An idiot. Now there's a laugh. He let himself fall into the bed, the scroll tossed carelessly aside, as Sasuke's thoughts shifted to Naruto. Konoha's loudest, dead-last idiot created a genjutsu that had caught him so thoroughly there might not be a way out. And without even realizing it yet. Sasuke would have laughed out loud, if he wasn't at the butt-end of this twisted joke.

NxS NxS NxS

_End of Chapter 2._

_Because of recent problems that had constrained the use of my PC for the rest of my life (until further notice), I'm sorry to say that I can only update once ever week at the most. Very bad, considering I already have the next chapter half-complete…which means I'll be leaving you all with some sort of cliffy...although you already have a vague idea of what's happened to Sasuke-kun._

_I still wait for reviews, though. You know, reviews are the only way writers here at ffnet can learn how to improve their writing skills? So yes, authors HIGHLY APPRECIATE reviews (ehem…)._


	3. Chapter 3

Blinding Light

**Blinding Light**

_A Naruto Fanfiction, Sequel to "Wrapped in More than Kindness"_

_Author's Notes: At last, the next chapter. God knows I've been itching to post this up since Wednesday last week, but I haven't been able to find the time. --;_

_Warnings and Disclaimers: All Naruto names, places, and related indicia are copyright to Masashi Kishimoto. Only the plot, OCs, and the writing style are mine. This story is rated M for language, graphic sexual scenes, and mature themes. It is also a yaoi fiction, which implies a boy x boy pairing: Naruto and Sasuke. If neither is to your liking, please press the back button._

**Chapter 3**

It wasn't until Naruto had arrived in front of Ichiraku's the next morning did he notice that something was not right. There he was, next to Sakura-chan, frowning in boredom while waiting for Kakashi-sensei to arrive. There was Sakura-chan, chatting quite animatedly to the stoic Uchiha about some friend or other who had her friend telling her about someone else's predicament, smiling all the while. And there was Sasuke-teme.

Naruto stopped there. He blinked, the frown melting into a blank expression, as he watched Sasuke out of the corner of his eye. His black hair was still sticking out wildly at the back, like (as he always described it) a duck's feathered, albeit dark, behind. He was leaning casually against the wall of the ramen shop, his eyes closed, his hands in his pockets, giving Sakura-chan the barest of nods or grunts to show he was listening. But the fact that made Naruto begin to worry was the lack of a scowl or angry glare shot in his direction.

By all known rules of Nature, Sasuke should have been very angry, or at the very least pretty pissed off, at Naruto. Knowing the Uchiha, he would have found a way to put all the blame on Naruto for the incident yesterday, never mind the fact that it had been him who pulled the blond gennin into a kiss. The thought that it had been the first "proper-yet-still-wrong" kiss for the both of them crossed his mind vaguely, but Naruto's attention was all on Sasuke's too passive behavior to care, or even have the decency to blush.

Oh, something was definitely not right.

During a break into her monologue Sakura had let her laughter trail off, seeing as Sasuke had no inclination to even smile at her funny story. She had walked over to Naruto, well out of earshot, and leaned slightly to whisper, "What's wrong with Sasuke-kun today? He seems a bit…off."

'A bit off' was a huge understatement, in Naruto's opinion. If it were any normal day, excluding the incident yesterday, Sasuke would have at least commented on Naruto and his lack of whatever-it-was that he seemed to think important, ridicule him, and generally irritate Naruto enough to make the blonde want to punch his nose in. But he had been silent ever since he arrived, nodding only once to Sakura and passing by Naruto as if he did not exist, before leaning against the ramen shop's wall. Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who had not moved from his original position, and said quite truthfully, "I don't know what's wrong with him."

He heard Sakura sigh, and saw her lips turn down into a slight frown. "Well, I didn't really expect him to tell me anything. But I thought you would know."

For a fleeting moment Naruto had the urge to tell Sakura what happened. Then the thought of telling her that Sasuke had actually pulled him into a kiss entered his mind; to put it mildly, Sakura would not take that too well. He'd be lucky to be alive after that…maybe he could tell her next time. Preferably decades from now, when all of this is over.

In the end he decided to play innocent. He opened his mouth to speak, but was stalled by Kakashi's arrival in a puff of smoke, his eyes crinkled into an apologetic grin, one hand holding his Icha Icha Paradise copy.

"Yo."

Sakura scowled at him. "You're late again, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Mah, gomen," Kakashi scratched the back of his head, his eyes still smiling. "I was lost on the road to life."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You always say the same old shit, sensei. It's getting old."

"Naruto!" Sakura reprimanded sharply. "Mind your language!" She swatted at Naruto, who couldn't hold back a yelp and a wince at the painful contact.

Kakashi ignored the bickering, and turned to Sasuke, who had opened one eye narrowly at the copy-nin. "What?" Sasuke snapped, the first word he had ever said that morning.

Kakashi's mirthful eyes changed into looks of mild curiosity. He tilted his head, still watching Sasuke. "Neh, Sasuke, why are you so upset this early?"

Sasuke 'hnn'-ed, both of his eyes now opened into a scowl. "Who wouldn't be upset when they had to wake up early but still had to wait two hours for their sensei to arrive?"

"Why don't you lighten up a bit, teme? Kakashi-sensei's always this late, anyway." Naruto frowned at him.

Kakashi saw Sasuke's eyes swivel towards Naruto, and for a moment the scowl was replaced with something akin to surprise and a tinge of fear, cracking the façade of cold indifference, before he blinked and then the scowl was back, more intense than before. Sasuke held Naruto's blue-eyed frown for a moment before he looked away with a soft 'tch' that only Kakashi could hear. "Whatever," Sasuke bit out, his tone flat. "Let's just get this mission going."

Kakashi blinked. He had been pretty sure Sasuke would have retaliated a verbal insult at Naruto; it was practically a given. But no jibe or taunt came, just a patented Uchiha glare and a low growl, before Sasuke pushed off the wall and walked a ways from both Sakura and Naruto, clearly impatient to get on with their mission. That, or he wanted to put as much physical distance as possible with…who? Kakashi turned to look at Sakura.

Nope. Definitely not her. Sasuke wouldn't even want to waste so much energy just to get away from Sakura, as pathetic as it might make the girl look. No, Sasuke gave her the same treatment he gives everyone else: complete ignorance.

Kakashi's one uncovered eye settled on Naruto, who was currently still frowning, his impossibly bright blue eyes narrowing slightly at Sasuke, his lips muttering angrily. The cogs in his head turned, and something sparked inside his head. A smile slowly crept up his lips, which was thankfully underneath his mask. Patting Naruto by the shoulder, he said, "Well, shall we go?"

Turning his thoughts to the mission at hand, Naruto's frown quickly became a look of barely-contained anticipation. "Ne, ne, Kakashi-sensei! What kind of mission are we doing? Is it B-rank at least? Or A-rank?"

Sakura swatted at Naruto again, who gave her a yelped 'itai!' and a pout. "Baka, we're only gennin! Why would the Hokage-sama give us an A-rank mission? Geez."

Kakashi made a placating gesture with his hand. "Hey, hey, calm down. Sorry Naruto, but Sakura is right. We do only a C-class mission today."

As expected, Naruto gave a disappointed groan, crossing his arms childishly. "Man, can't we get some action at all?"

"Well," Kakashi scratched at his chin with a finger, "at least we get to travel."

Even Sakura brightened at the prospect. "Really?" she asked, her teal eyes widening slightly. "What's our mission about?"

"If Sasuke would be so kind as to come a bit closer, I'll tell you."

Kakashi saw Sasuke visibly stiffen at the words, and caught a deadly glare directed at him before Sasuke walked towards them, stopping when he was a pace behind the copy-nin, Sakura and Naruto directly opposite him. He did not say a word, but Kakashi could feel the promise of painful retribution come off in waves from his dark-haired student. Something which he welcomed with a grin. "We'll be escorting someone for this mission."

Their reactions varied, from surprised (Naruto) to interested (Sakura) to annoyed (Sasuke). Kakashi continued. "We're escorting the daughter of a merchant from Konoha to a nearby city. It's still in Fire Country, and the merchant isn't so well-off that he'd need to fear from a kidnapping attempt, but he has only one daughter."

"Oh, a spoiled girl huh?" Naruto piped up, which earned him another swat on the head from Sakura.

Kakashi's eyes were still crinkled into a smile. "Well, we have our orders. We will meet our client in… oh wait, we should have been there fifteen minutes ago."

"WHAT?!" Naruto yelled loud enough for the entire neighborhood to wake up, and Kakashi had to cover the ear closest to the blond with a finger. "Why couldn't you have told us, sooner, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Mah, you wanted explanations…"

Sakura shook her head. "Let's just go, sensei," she said, pulling at Naruto's arm to get him moving. Inwardly she wanted to yell and throttle the copy-nin, but Sasuke was right there. It wouldn't do to give him the wrong impression.

It was a good thing they did not have to go far. The inn where the merchant's daughter stayed was only three blocks from Ichiraku's. Naruto looked at the well-kept, three-story building with slight interest. It was actually pretty modest, with a small sign up front that named it "Wayward Traveler's Inn". The roof tiles were painted a bright red, with the walls made of seasoned wood. Naruto could now understand what Kakashi had meant by the merchant being 'not so well-off'; the inn wasn't grand or expensive, but it didn't look shabby and run-down either.

An old man with a graying top-knot greeted them at the front door, wearing a somber gray and earth green kimono. Kakashi stepped forward and greeted back with a slight bow. "You must be the merchant, Tsukimori-san?"

The merchant nodded with a small, nervous smile. "Ah, yes. You are the shonobi I requested for?" He turned from Kakashi to the three gennin standing a ways behind him, his expression turning slightly doubtful.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, we are." He followed the merchant's eyes. "Those kids are still gennin, but they can do the job without breaking a sweat."

Tsukimori nodded, although he pursed his lips slightly. Turning to Kakashi again, he said, "My daughter will be down in a while."

As if on cue the front doors opened, and out walked a young girl with long black hair and a small, pale face. She turned brown eyes towards her father, bowing, her crisp kimono ruffling slightly. "Good morning, Father." She stood up again, her eyes landing on Naruto and the others. "They are the ones?"

Naruto walked up to her and offered his hand, a wide grin plastered on his face, his whisker marks stretching. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Konoha's future Hokage, and the greatest ninja in the village!" Behind him, Sakura groaned, while Sasuke looked away, looking more annoyed than ever.

The young girl looked at Naruto's offered hand for a few moments, blinking at it, before she gave a tremulous smile. "I am Tsukimori Yuki. Please, call me Yuki."

Naruto couldn't help but blush when Yuki smiled at him; she wasn't very pretty or anything, but when she smiled her whole face seemed to glow. Naruto gave her a nervous laugh to hide the blush, scratching his head sheepishly. She reminded him somewhat of Hinata.

Yuki slowly turned to the others, and was greeted first by Sakura. "My name is Haruno Sakura. Please, call me Sakura." She gave the young girl her most brilliant smile, hoping Sasuke would see.

Yuki stared at her with her eyes widened in awe. "A-amazing," Yuki breathed. "I've never seen hair like yours. It's really very beautiful!"

Sakura blushed back, and smiled even more. Inwardly, she was skipping with delight. She was beginning to think that she and Yuki would be getting along just fine. "Thanks. I like your hair, too."

Naruto watched in mild astonishment how Sakura was talking with Yuki as if they had been lifelong friends already. Now why can't Sakura talk to him that way, too? At least, without the urge to whack at whatever body part of his that was within reach. He turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei, when do we leave?"

The copy-nin had been talking to the merchant for further arrangements for their service when Naruto asked. He turned his head and gave Naruto a grin. "We leave in five. Oh yeah, might as well give out your assignments." He sighed. "Alright kiddies, line up."

Naruto pouted at the name, but otherwise did not comment. Sakura skipped up to them with Yuki still in tow, while Sasuke (Naruto observed with an annoyed frown) dragged himself from leaning against a nearby post, a permanent scowl on his face. Maybe it was Naruto's imagination, but he thought he saw Sasuke's scowl turn even nastier at the sight of him. For a moment the blond thought of asking Sasuke about with, but then decided against it. He was loathed to admit it, but Naruto had a subconscious fear of having a repeat of yesterday's events.

"Let's see, I'll take up the lead. Sakura, you stay on the left flank of Yuki-chan's carriage. Naruto, you stay on the right. Sasuke, you're rear guard." Kakashi looked at them in turn. "We're not really expecting trouble, but keep your eyes peeled still. Bandits have been known to attack on the route upon occasion. We avoid casualties as much as possible. Is everything clear?"

Naruto raised a hand, and Kakashi rolled his eyes, clearly expecting this. "Yes, Naruto?"

"Why can't I take the front for once?" he whined.

"Because you can't navigate or read a map to save your life, that's why," Sakura snapped, shooting Naruto a glare. "Remember the last time we let you lead the way out of Konoha forest?"

"We still got out of the forest," Naruto pouted.

"After getting lost for three hours," Sakura deadpanned. "And we were still in _Konoha _then." Naruto's cheeks blushed in shame, and he determinedly did not look at Sakura, pulling on his lower lip in a pout. He also pointedly ignored Yuki's soft giggle.

"Fine, have it your way," Naruto mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets and pulling a face. He directed a sulking look at Kakashi and Sakura, who both shook their heads in shared exasperation. Naruto would have pulled a sulking look at Sasuke, too, if he hadn't noticed the teme staring at him discreetly out of the corner of his dark eyes.

Naruto mentally did a double take. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and looked at Sasuke again. But the Uchiha had already averted his eyes elsewhere. Only the tense way he held his shoulders gave away the fact that Naruto had caught him staring.

Naruto unconsciously shifted the backpack on his shoulders as if bracing himself. What was wrong with the teme today?

NxS NxS NxS

Uchiha Sasuke cursed under his breath, trying to ignore the insistent pounding at the back of his skull and the continuous thudding of his heart against his ribcage. He clenched and unclenched his right fist, staring down at it as he counted out slow, even breaths, which did nothing whatsoever to improve his condition. At the back of his mind, Sasuke knew why his body would not cooperate with his mind to calm down, but he stubbornly refused to accept it.

No one, and in this case, _nothing_, could bend him into submitting into anything.

Ever since he had woken up that morning he had been preparing himself—training, meditation—just so he would not succumb into the helpless, embarrassingly shameless behavior of the previous day. He gritted his teeth and kept back a snarl. Oh, he was definitely helpless; not in a million years would he ever try to touch Naruto.

Your average shinobi would have been thrown into the depths of misery and perhaps insanity, were they in the position Sasuke was in. But Sasuke was not your average shinobi. He was a tensai, the strongest in the Academy to become a gennin, and he was an Uchiha. After the initial bout of panic, Sasuke had resolved to undo what had been done to him, and do it with his head held high.

But the moment Naruto had arrived in front of Ichiraku's, everything went wrong.

They were already on the road, Kakashi in front of the carriage with the driver, the two other gennins on either side keeping easy pace with the horse's stride, while he was at the rear. He kept his eyes glued to the back of the carriage, his other senses alert, but he barely heard Sakura's angry yelling at Naruto. He was more aware of the fact that he knew, even without seeing, that Naruto kept shooting him discrete, narrow-eyed glances.

Anger flared and scorched Sasuke's insides. Each glance struck him like a corded whip, snapping his body rigid. It was like getting hit by a mild bolt of electricity that sizzled underneath your skin, leaving you wide-eyed and breathless at its suddenness. Sasuke almost bit his lip in shame. He wasn't supposed to be feeling this! He came prepared, damn it!

Sakura's voice floated in the air. "Sasuke-kun, don't you think it's a good idea if we took a look around the town when we get there?" She had her head craned back to look at him, an expectant smile on her face.

Sasuke inwardly flinched. There it was again…like a sharp tug on his insides. It only made his anger flare up even more, and he fought hard to maintain a straight face. "It's too bothersome," he replied, relieved when his voice came out in its usual bored, flat tone.

His ears caught the sound of an irritated huff somewhere on the right of the carriage. "Well, _I_ think it's a great idea!" proclaimed Naruto in a loud voice, which turned into an excited tone as he added, "Neh, Sakura-chan! Why don't we go together?"

Sasuke tuned out the conversation at that point, finding the focus of attention had shifted away from him. He didn't even bother to add another comment, because he _knew_—again, his insides twisted painfully at the thought—that Naruto had been listening, and waiting for his reaction.

Sasuke felt the ground dip suddenly in front of him, and he would have fallen flat on his face if he had not reacted quickly enough, shifting his center of gravity and stepping sideways to avoid what would have surely added another bruise to his already-battered ego. He swore heatedly under his breath; this was the first time he had tripped while walking. Tripped! As if he had been totally blind! He glared in Naruto's general direction. And all of this was that usuratonkatchi's fault!

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke straightened himself and caught up with the carriage. He was not going to let this genjutsu win against him. He bit his lower lip to keep a gasp from escaping as another jolt of electricity traveled up his spine, stronger than the others.

_I won't loose to this!_

NxS NxS NxS

The journey only took up an entire morning and half of an afternoon, but Sasuke felt like it had been weeks since they had left Konoha village. His mind felt like a rubber band stretched too much; it had taken all of his efforts to maintain composure. For a moment he mentally beat the crap out of Naruto: why did the dobe have to keep glancing his way, even if he had made sure to stay out of Naruto's way?! What was worse was that Sasuke was sure Naruto had started to suspect about his odd behavior. He knew for a certainty whenever Naruto's thoughts touched on Sasuke, when Naruto wanted to talk to him but held back. He even knew when Naruto was nearby, even without consciously looking for his chakra presence!

It was just like—Sasuke thought bitterly—the way people felt when they were in love.

They had escorted the girl Yuki without any incident. Sakura made a lot of fuss about making the girl promise to visit Konoha again very soon, but in the end they had accomplished the mission without a snitch. As they left the merchant's house, Kakashi glanced at his three charges with a grinning eye. "Since we've got the entire afternoon and the next day left for this mission, why don't we spend the night at an inn? We can leave for Konoha tomorrow morning. That way you guys can look around town for a while."

Sakura agreed with glee, clapping her hands together in delight. Naruto reacted with much the same gusto, but Kakashi noticed Sasuke's lack of response. "You've been very quiet the entire day, Sasuke."

"I'm fine," Sasuke grunted as he looked away, not wanting to see Naruto's eyes stray towards him _again_. He hoped the answer satisfied the copy-nin, but his luck did not seem to be very high today.

Kakashi tilted his head and even put down his book, which meant he now had his full attention directed at Sasuke. "Are you sure?"

_Stupid, nosy, perverted ninja._ "Yes," Sasuke grated out, feeling his face stiffen with the effort of not scowling.

For a few tense moments Kakashi studied him, not saying anything. But it seemed he decided nothing was indeed wrong when he returned to his book. "We'll find a place to stay for the day before you can roam around."

It took them half an hour to find a suitable inn, where they rented out three rooms. Kakashi and Sakura both had rooms to themselves. To Sasuke's horror and trepidation, he was going to share a room with Naruto. This was their usual arrangement whenever they did a mission out of the village, and Sasuke couldn't really complain except for the fact that he had to bear with Naruto's whiny voice, but it was the first time he would be left alone with the blonde after their not-so-accidental kiss.

The room was plain, and actually quite roomy. It had two beds, a bedside drawer and night lamp in between them, and a large, shuttered window on one side. That was it. To Sasuke though, the room seemed very small and constricting. Especially when Naruto came inside, carrying his backpack and wearing an indiscernible expression on his face.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke stiffened the moment he heard Naruto's oddly calm voice. He stood up from where he sat on the edge of the bed in the farthest corner and made to walk out. "I have nothing to say to you," he hissed as he gave Naruto a glare powerful enough to strike down a horse. The moment the words left his lips he regretted them; they were words said in haste, without careful consideration, and made it plain as day to Naruto that there was something wrong.

He had not even managed to get within three steps of the door when Naruto's hand grabbed his arm and turned him around. Sasuke looked up, and saw Naruto's face set into a heavy scowl. A heavy, determined scowl. "Teme," he growled, "what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Sasuke could feel his lips stretch into a smirk. "Don't tell me you're too stupid to figure it out on your own?"

An inhuman sound rumbled against Naruto's throat as his grip tightened on Sasuke's arm. "Don't give me that crap," he grated. "Just answer my question."

Sasuke met Naruto's blue glare with one of his own. "There's nothing wrong."

Naruto took a step forward, his glare stronger, his tone angrier. "The hell there's nothing wrong!" He pushed Sasuke away suddenly and began to pace the room, running a hand through his mass of spiky hair, making them stick out every which way. "Stupid teme…" he muttered.

"If you don't believe me, that's fine," Sasuke scowled right back, crossing his arms across his chest. "But I'm still telling you, nothing is wrong. It's all just your imagination."

Naruto stopped and whirled towards him, making Sasuke take an unconscious step back. "Nothing's wrong?" he repeated incredulously. "Nothing?! You called what happened yesterday nothing?"

"That wasn't my fault," Sasuke spat.

He saw Naruto rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, it wasn't your fault that your hands pulled me towards you, right?" His tone dripped of sarcasm…a first for Naruto. "What the hell happened then, Sasuke, huh?"

"It was…an accident." Even as he said it, Sasuke knew it was a lousy excuse, and clearly Naruto thought it, too, because the next moment he had grabbed a handful of Sasuke's shirt and slammed him against the wall, his blue eyes piercing.

"Bullshit, Sasuke! I'm not stupid enough to think what happened was an accident! You grabbed hold of me and kissed me!"

"Your point?"

Naruto's nostrils flared in anger, his cheeks flushing. "Have you lost your freaking mind?!" he yelled in Sasuke's face. "I haven't been able to get any sleep last night thinking about why you would go ahead and do something like that, and when I ask you about it all you can say is 'your point'?"

Sasuke could feel, from the way Naruto's fist trembled against his chest, that he was close to exploding. He gave a mental sigh as he tried to pry Naruto's hand away, with no result. Finally he glared at Naruto. "Release me."

"Not until you give me a straight answer, teme."

"Release me now, dobe, or I'll—"

"You'll what?" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "You'll kiss me again? Is that how you get some, Sasuke? Kissing people out of the blue? So the famous Uchiha is a pervert, eh?"

Sasuke could feel his anger being stoked anew, his hard gaze turning murderous. "I am not a pervert," he snapped waspishly.

Naruto snorted, a smirk plastered on his face. "Alright, then I guess you were just horny? Shit Sasuke, I didn't know you had feelings for me."

The statement struck Sasuke numb for a moment, and Naruto's own anger actually dropped a few points as he saw Sasuke's scowl replaced by a slack, unreadable look. It was only a moment, but it was enough to make Naruto release his hold on Sasuke. "Holy shit…"

"It's not what you think." Sasuke said a little too quickly.

Naruto backed away until he was at the door, his eyes still trained on Sasuke. With a scowl he said, "So what is it then?" He watched as Sasuke stiffened, his face frowning, as he considered.

Finally, "Remember what you were doing yesterday? Before…before…"

"Yeah, I was practicing a new genjutsu," Naruto supplied, impatient.

Sasuke nodded tersely. "The scroll you'd been reading. It wasn't yours, it was Sakura's."

"Yeah," Naruto replied, more slowly this time. "I thought that was why the genjutsu I was practicing screwed up."

"You didn't screw it up."

Naruto turned a confused look on Sasuke. "Huh?"

"You didn't screw it up," Sasuke repeated, and he stared at Naruto with an unknown expression. "In fact, you did it right. For once."

Naruto let the implied insult slide. "What do you mean, I did it right?"

Sasuke bit back the words he wanted to lash out at Naruto. _Stupid dobe!_ "You created a genjutsu. That ball of chakra you created. It hit me and made me fall off the tree."

For a few minutes Naruto did not respond; he only frowned at the window. "And?"

Sasuke took a deep breath. This was more difficult than he thought it would be. "I fell in love with you."

"What?!"

Sasuke stared Naruto in the eye. "I fell in love with you, idiot."

NxS NxS NxS

_End of Chapter 3._


	4. Chapter 4

Blinding Light

**Blinding Light**

_A Naruto Fanfiction, Sequel to "Wrapped in More than Kindness"_

_Warnings and Disclaimers: All Naruto names, places, and related indicia are copyright to Masashi Kishimoto. Only the plot, OCs, and writing style are mine. Also, this story is rated M for language, mature themes, and graphic sexual scenes. This story also contains yaoi or shounen-ai, more specifically a Naruto and Sasuke pairing. If you disapprove or are uncomfortable reading stories with these contents, please push the back button now._

_And for those who are wondering, I am inclined at this point to make Naruto seme and Sasuke uke. I accept any and all comments, suggestions, and (most especially) reviews; you are most encouraged to review after reading. :)_

_To those who are planning to send flames, I'm not stopping you, but they will not deter me whatsoever in completing this story (and many more in the future). The more flames I receive, the more slash stories I will publish just to spite the whole lot of you, ha ha._

**Chapter 4**

"You're joking."

It wasn't even a question. It was more like a statement that needed only some sort of reaffirmation. It made Sasuke's eyebrow twitch dangerously. "Would I joke about something like this?" He aimed a glare at Naruto.

Naruto scowled right back. "How the hell would I know, teme? You've got one twisted sense of humor," he snarled. He stayed right where he was, by the door, just in case Sasuke did something…unexpected. Crossing his arms protectively over his chest, Naruto added, "This isn't payback for making you fall off the tree, is it? 'Cause you weren't even supposed to be there, spying on me."

Sasuke growled something unintelligible under his breath and raked a hand through his hair, making it look even wilder than before. "This isn't payback for anything," he said through gritted teeth. "Do you honestly think I'd be stupid enough to do something like this?!"

The impulsive answer 'yes!' was already at the tip of Naruto's tongue when he stopped to consider what Sasuke said. He studied him, standing a few feet away with his hands clenched into fists, his dark eyes sometimes shifting into the blood red and black swirl of his Sharingan. Sasuke must really be upset over this if he could not even keep it in check. Naruto clenched his own fists, feeling anger bubble in his stomach. He hated it when Sasuke was right. He took a deep breath and looked pointedly at Sasuke. "So…you love me?"

"Do the words 'accidental' and 'genjutsu' mean anything to you?" Sasuke snapped. His voice, Naruto noticed, seemed slightly higher pitched and high-strung than before. And his pale cheeks had a distinctive dusting of pink in them. "I fell in love with you, but I don't love you. There's a distinct difference, dobe."

Instead of arguing, Naruto scratched his head, thinking. He personally didn't see how they were different, but his guts told him it would be very bad to argue with a pissed off and very tense Uchiha. "So what are we going to do?"

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "We?"

"Yeah."

Sasuke regarded Naruto stiffly. "_We_ are not going to do anything. You," he pointed a finger at Naruto, "will stay away from me and mind your own business. I am going to find a way to remove this cursed technique by myself."

Naruto bristled, his blue eyes flaring up again. "You're talking as if I can do nothing but make things worse."

Sasuke didn't even bother hiding the smirk that graced his lips. "Oh, so you realized? I thought you never would."

Naruto took a step forward, his anger rushing through his ears. "You fucking teme, don't talk as if you're better than me!"

"Aren't I?" Sasuke snapped back, sneering at Naruto. "Between the two of us, who's the one who always gets left behind, eh usuratonkatchi?" At the back of his mind Sasuke knew he had to stop, to leave it at that, but a greater part of him relished in finding someone to shout at, to blame at for his predicament. He let out a bark of laughter. "You're a nothing, Naruto."

With a scream of rage Naruto launched himself at Sasuke at a speed the Uchiha did not think he possessed. Sasuke felt his breath forced out of him by the force of Naruto's impact against his body, and they both tumbled to the floor with a crash, Naruto weighing Sasuke down.

"Bastard!" Naruto howled, sitting up and grabbing both of Sasuke's wrists, pinning them to the floor on either side, his eyes twin furnaces of blue fire. He could feel his chakra spiking erratically with his anger. "You don't even know shit about me! You have no fucking right to…to…" Naruto's words faded as he stared at Sasuke. "W-what the…?"

Exactly what made Naruto stop from pounding Sasuke's face into indiscernible mush, he did not know, but the first thing he realized as the haze of anger cleared from his head was that Sasuke was not resisting. Naruto leaned back slightly. He was gripping Sasuke's wrists tightly in his own hands, his knees pinning Sasuke's body to the floor, but he was not struggling. His eyes made a slow trail from Sasuke's left wrist to his face. "Sa…Sasuke?"

Sasuke had turned his head so that Naruto could only see the right side of his face, but the vibrant reddish hue of his otherwise pale skin was very visible. His eyes were shut tightly, but his mouth was partly open, and he was panting for breath, as if he had just run miles. As Naruto shifted, he could almost swear he heard Sasuke moan. "Teme, what—"

Sasuke feebly opened his eyes, and turned slightly towards Naruto. "Get…off…me…teme." It sounded as if he was talking with great effort.

Naruto, being who he was, completely missed the unspoken desperation in Sasuke's tone. He frowned in slight confusion, his anger simmering down to annoyance as he leaned closer, trying to figure out what was happening. "What the hell's happening to you now?"

Sasuke tried to shake Naruto off, but slumped back on the floor, the redness of his skin turning a shade deeper. Naruto watched as Sasuke shut his eyes tightly for a second and gasped for breath, before opening his eyes again. There was a strange gleam there that Naruto could not identify. "Just get off. Now."

Naruto tilted his head. "Why?"

Sasuke turned his head until he was facing Naruto. "I warned you," he managed to say in a breathless rush, before arching forward, grabbing Naruto's lips with his own in a hungry, devouring kiss.

The kiss startled Naruto so much that he released Sasuke's wrists and tried to push himself backward. But Sasuke was too quick; he grabbed Naruto by the nape of his neck and pulled him closer, his other hand grabbing a handful of Naruto's hair, making him unable to break free.

Even to an inexperienced Naruto, it was pretty obvious that Sasuke had never kissed anyone in his whole life. It was insistent and demanding. The pressure of his lips insisted entrance into Naruto's mouth, which the blonde stubbornly did not give. Naruto suddenly felt Sasuke's tongue glide across his lower lip, Sasuke's breath ghosting across his skin, raw and hot and aching; something in Naruto kicked into gear, and he tore away from Sasuke's kiss with an effort, silently thankful that Sasuke had not tightened his grip on his hair any more than he already did.

"What the hell?" Naruto's anger returned, and along with it embarrassment, rushing to his cheeks. He was ready to pummel Sasuke and beat the crap out of him. But the look of Sasuke's face, a violent swirl of bitter anger and helplessness that was so unlike him, made Naruto stop. His anger dwindled into nothing, leaving only a curiously empty, dull feeling in his chest. His shoulders sagged. "This was what you meant?"

He felt, more than saw, Sasuke stiffen underneath him, before he gave the barest of nods. Sasuke seemed intent to stare at the wooden floor as he said, "The scroll said that physical contact only makes it worse." His voice was slightly hoarse.

Naruto immediately stood up and walked a few steps back. "I didn't know, Sasuke." He made to help his team mate up, but stopped when he realized he would have to hold Sasuke to do it. Instead he waited in silent shame as Sasuke picked himself up off the floor and sat heavily on his own bed. Naruto spoke up again. "This thing…it's that serious, isn't it?"

Sasuke gave out a short-lived, humorless chuckle. "You have no idea." His face was obscured by his hair, sitting in a crouched position as he was, with his hands together and resting on his knees. But the sharp anger and resentment in his voice was too vivid to go by unnoticed.

"Then why won't you let me help you?"

"Who says I need any help?" Sasuke finally lifted his head, and the usual arrogance and rock-hard stubbornness returned to the surface, as if the past few moments had never existed. "Even if I did, a dobe like you would be the last person I'd turn to."

Naruto knew it was just Sasuke's pride talking, but he couldn't help bristling at the words. He had heard enough. He had his own dignity, fuck him! "Fine," he spat, turning towards the door. "Do whatever you want. I don't care at all." He slammed the door, enough to almost tear it off its hinges, as he left the room. The sound rang in his ears as he stood out in the hallway, gritting his teeth.

I really don't care at all.

NxS NxS NxS

On hindsight, Kakashi thought it had been a very wise decision to have let Sakura have a look around town as soon as they got settled in the inn. He glanced at his door and sighed. Otherwise, she would have run to the boys' room as soon as she heard Naruto's angry shouts.

So this was what Tsunade had mentioned to him this morning. Kakashi turned a page of his erotic book, not really seeing the lines on the page. A genjutsu gone wrong…or in this case, gone right, and had terribly wrong consequences. Or maybe not so wrong, depending on how you look at it. It had taken very little effort for Kakashi to hear what his two gennin had been fighting about, since Naruto's voice had been on a constantly high decibel that was enough to be heard by the entire inn. It was a good thing Kakashi had enough presence of mind to block out the sound with a quick jutsu.

Kakashi chuckled as he remembered Naruto's particular words. Tsunade had explicitly ordered him to report Sasuke's activities on this mission. But maybe it would be better to watch for Naruto as well?

"I wonder what would happen tonight," he murmured with a smile as he turned his focus back on his Icha Icha Paradise.

NxS NxS NxS

That night, Sasuke did not sleep at the inn.

Naruto had half-expected this to happen; whenever Sasuke was upset or angry, he would usually keep to himself until it blew off. But this was not just another Sasuke-tantrum, and this certainly would not "blow off" that easily. He angrily shook his head when he realized he was staring at the Uchiha's untouched bed again, and shifted the backpack hanging from his shoulders. If Sasuke didn't want his help, that was just fine with him.

As he descended the stairs to the ground floor he saw Kakashi and Sakura already by the receptionist's desk, waiting. Sakura gave her usual, smiling 'good morning', her pink hair that barely touched her jaw line swaying. Naruto forced a smile onto his face and gave him own bouncy, loud response.

Kakashi turned to him just as he stopped in front of Sakura. "Where's Sasuke?"

Naruto inwardly flinched at the question, but managed a casual shrug. "Around," he replied, not quite covering the terse tone at the end.

Sakura tilted her head in question, frowning slightly. "What do you mean?" She looked up, and a smile broke through her face. "Sasuke-kun! Over here!"

Naruto cursed mentally as his shoulders unconsciously went rigid at the mention of Sasuke's name. He turned his head slightly; sure enough, at the edge of his peripheral vision, was a pair of hard onyx eyes and a pale, unruffled expression walking quite languidly in their direction.

"You didn't go back last night," Kakashi said quietly, his face betraying nothing as he studied Sasuke. Sakura's eyes widened in shock, turning first to Kakashi, then to Sasuke, worry slowly worming into her expression.

Sasuke grunted. "I was training."

Naruto cast a quick glance at Sasuke. He was scowling again, but this time he was avoiding everyone's gaze. His fists were clenched and thrust into the pockets of his linen shorts. It was just a glance, but Naruto could tell Sasuke was lying. He knew why Sasuke had not returned to their room last night, but he sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to tell Kakashi and Sakura about it. So Sasuke could take care of it himself, eh?

"Hey, aren't we supposed to be leaving?" he asked loudly, and two pairs of eyes turned in his direction. One pair was determinedly staring at something else.

Kakashi gave Sasuke one last, lingering look, before nodding. "Naruto's right. We have to be in Konoha by lunchtime."

"What? But we took almost three times that long to get here!" Sakura exclaimed.

Kakashi's eyes crinkled into a smile. "Well, then that means you have to run fast, don't you?"

"And tire ourselves out?" Naruto whined.

"What if I said I'll treat whoever of you gets to Konoha first with ramen?"

At the mention of ramen Naruto's ears perked up, and his eyes positively shimmered as he looked expectantly at Kakashi. "Ramen, Kakashi-sensei?! Really?"

"Why ramen?" Sakura asked with a half-pout, a hand on her hip.

"Then if it's you, I'll treat you to wherever you like," Kakashi replied.

An uncharacteristic gleam appeared in Sakura's eyes. "You're on, Kakashi-sensei."

"And you Sasuke?" Kakashi turned to his other student, one eye boring into him. "What would you like for a prize?"

Naruto saw Sasuke's gaze flicker in his direction before he shrugged, walking towards the inn's front doors. "Whatever."

"Whatever, huh?" Kakashi mused. His one-eyed glance flickered towards Naruto, standing beside him. "Did you two fight?"

Naruto only shook his head, not trusting himself to speak.

For a moment Kakashi's gaze turned hard and piercing, but when he shrugged his crinkled-eye smile was back. What would his two students do now? "Well, let's go back home guys."

NxS NxS NxS

"Hey, Naruto? Listen, um, can we go someplace we can talk?"

Naruto peeled open an eye and saw Sakura's face hovering above his, blinking at him. He covered the huge yawn that threatened to break his jaw and sat up. It was already late in the afternoon, probably an hour after he had decided to take a nap under the huge tree near the training grounds he used often. "What's this about?"

Sakura placed a hand on her hip and gave him a pointed look. "Is it really so strange if I try to talk to you?"

"No, not at all," Naruto answered hurriedly, not wanting to destroy Sakura's good mood and potentially put his own life in danger. He scratched the back of his head with one hand and looked around. "Well, we can talk here."

Instead of replying, Sakura gave him a small smile and sat down on the thick grass beside him, leaning against the huge trunk. He watched her face turn into a serious expression as she fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. "You haven't…haven't been keeping anything from me, have you?"

Naruto blinked, not sure if he had heard right. But he had extra-sensitive hearing, thanks to the Kyuubi taking up residence in his body, so he must have. "Keeping—?"

Sakura sighed and turned to look at him, her eyes probing and unwavering. "Have you two been fighting again?"

Now he was utterly confused. "Who?"

The pink-haired kunoichi made an irritated noise at the back of her throat and gestured sharply with one hand. "You and Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto frowned right back. "What the hell made you think we'd been fighting?"

Sakura sighed, her frown taking on a depressed look. "I notice things, Naruto. I may not be as quick or as strong as you or Sasuke-kun but—!" She looked at him determinedly this time. "I can see things aren't at all good between the two of you!"

Naruto sighed inwardly. He knew this was coming, but he had hoped Sakura wouldn't have noticed. It had been almost two weeks since their mission to escort the merchant's daughter, and it had been just as long since Naruto had talked with Sasuke. Oh sure they do missions together, but they never even exchanged greetings anymore.

To be honest Naruto was fine with it. Heck, he was happy not to have the teme on his case all the time! But as the days progressed worry began to worm through his indifferent attitude, and Naruto often found himself wondering if Sasuke had, indeed, found a way to dispel the genjutsu Naruto had accidentally cast on him.

There was no way for Naruto to know except talk to Sasuke, but the Uchiha heir seemed determined to keep his word, and never stayed long after training and missions to give Naruto any opportunity for conversation. It was like he was always there, but never really there.

Now Sakura had noticed Sasuke and Naruto's oddly tense and silent treatment of each other. And if Sakura did, then Kakashi surely had already. Naruto let himself back down onto the grass and stared up at the sky. "We're not fighting," Naruto said truthfully.

"You're lying." He could hear the accusation and the anger creeping into her tone. He frowned at the orange and pink hues above him.

"I'm not."

"Then what's going on, Naruto?" Her voice seemed on the verge of crying now, and laced thickly with pain. The silent question that was never asked hung heavily in the air. Why won't you two tell me anything anymore?

Naruto turned to his side, his back facing Sakura. He inhaled the scent of the grass and the earth, a cool afternoon breeze ruffling his golden hair. "I don't know," he said after a while, his voice uncharacteristically soft and contemplative. "Maybe you should ask Sasuke."

Sakura gave a bitter laugh. "Don't you think I've tried? The only thing I get out of him is a glare and a grunt before he disappears."

Naruto snorted softly. "And you think I have a better chance of getting him to answer?"

"Don't you?" Sakura shot back. Naruto could feel her piercing gaze behind him, and he gritted his teeth.

"We hate each other, Sakura-chan."

"Yes, but you're friends!" Sakura cried out, grabbing Naruto's arm and pulling him roughly so that now he was facing her. Her teal eyes brimmed with tears, but they did not fall. She gritted her teeth at him. "You always tell me how you hate him, but I know you both treat each other as friends! Sasuke thinks of you as a friend more than he ever did me, Naruto!"

Naruto could see the flash of pain in her eyes even as she said the words, all of them brutally honest. He was taken aback by how upset Sakura was with all of this, even if she had no idea what was happening. But Naruto knew why. "You're worried that Orochimaru's curse seal might be affecting him, aren't you?"

Sakura stopped and looked away. Jealousy and anger twisted Naruto's stomach, but he quickly stamped them down. He gave Sakura a smile. "Don't worry, it has nothing to do with the snake bastard's seal. If it did, Tsunade baa-chan would know, and she'd fix Sasuke up good before you can say 'hokage'."

"Really?" Sakura's voice had turned hopeful, and she looked at Naruto with glistening eyes. Naruto forced his smile to go wider, and he nodded.

"Definitely," he grinned. "But if it makes you feel better, I'll go and look for Sasuke and ask him."

Oh shit.

Naruto gave a surprised 'oomph' as Sakura rushed towards him, giving him a bone-breaking hug. "Thanks, Naruto," she whispered into his neck before releasing him. Her face was now beaming. "Yeah, that would be great."

He gave her a thumbs-up sign. "No problem!" he exclaimed with an energy he did not felt, as he mentally groaned at his own stupidity, and wondering why his luck was always seemed to get him into the worst case scenarios.

Had he done something so cruel to deserve such a fate?

NxS NxS NxS

_End Chapter 4._


	5. Chapter 5

Blinding Light

**Blinding Light**

_A Naruto Fanfiction, Sequel to "Wrapped in More than Kindness"_

_Warnings and Disclaimers: All Naruto names, places, and related indicia are copyright to Masashi Kishimoto. Only the plot, OCs, and writing style are mine. Also, this story is rated M for language, mature themes, and graphic sexual scenes. This story also contains yaoi or shounen-ai, more specifically a Naruto and Sasuke pairing. If you disapprove or are uncomfortable reading stories with these contents, please push the back button now. That means immediately._

_In this chapter is my first attempt at Sasuke showing anger. If, you think, it has become too OOC please do not hesitate to tell me. Sasuke is (in my opinion) the hardest character to portray as angry…I actually thought this through for a few days._

**Chapter 5**

Sasuke was walking home when he felt it: the sharp twisting in his gut he had prayed he would never feel again. His footsteps faltered, and he stood stock still, closing his eyes briefly as a tingle ran up his arms, bringing with it a feeling of trepidation, and the strange want to relive the sensation all over again. When he opened his eyes he was already scowling, scanning the street and the roofs, spreading out his chakra senses, hoping he was wrong.

But he was an Uchiha. He was rarely wrong. His hopes were crushed as he felt the familiar sense of Naruto's chakra, slowly approaching his direction. He was maybe…three corners away.

Shit. It did not go unnoticed by Sasuke that he had felt those…tingles…even before he could feel Naruto's presence. So the scroll had been right again. Double shit.

For a wild moment he had wanted to flee, but that would do no good. It would only make Naruto realize that Sasuke had sensed him coming, and would be more adamant about pursuing him. If there was one thing about Naruto that Sasuke was pretty damn sure of, it was his stubbornness.

In the end he decided to play the role and let Naruto tail him. He resumed walking at his usual pace, both his hands in his pockets. He let his eyes trail over the shops he passed by, never really seeing the faces of people who were also on the street. His ears picked up the sounds of conversation, of someone laughing in the store across the road, of a woman calling someone's name. Inside him, he felt like a coil of spring wound tighter with each passing second, ready to lash out at any moment.

He turned the corner, into the alley that would lead him straight to the Uchiha compound, and here there were no shops or passersby, only the haunted, empty feeling of a place long since deprived of life. For once the soft moaning of a passing wind, or the heightened sounds of inanimate objects stressing the emptiness did not bother Sasuke. His focus was intent on the faint footsteps he could already hear. But it was not coming closer.

So Naruto wanted to play spy for a bit? Fine.

Sasuke suddenly turned a corner and slid behind the shadows of a shop's eave, knowing he would be very well-hidden in it. He waited for a few moments, holding his breath. Sure enough, Naruto passed him by, a slight frown on his face. Wondering where Sasuke went.

The Uchiha stepped out of the shadows quietly, his eyes boring into Naruto's back with a scowl. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Naruto spun around wildly, the expression on his face clearly stating that he had not sensed Sasuke's presence. It did very little to abate the rapidly rising annoyance that made Sasuke's brow twitch. With Naruto this close, the air around them felt thick, charged with electricity that sent the weirdest sensations tearing through the Uchiha's body. It took all his self-control to remain motionless where he stood.

The moment Naruto's eyes landed on Sasuke he relaxed visibly, relief passing through his face before it was replaced with a slight frown. "Teme, you didn't have to go all spooky on me and pop out of nowhere. God knows Kakashi-sensei does enough of that to last me a lifetime."

Sasuke ignored the comment and went straight to the point. "You're not answering my question, dobe."

He saw Naruto's eyes flash with anger at the name-calling, but did not rise to the bait. Instead he only deepened his frown and crossed his arms across his chest in a gesture Sasuke had come to associate with Naruto when he was trying to be serious. How unusual. "Don't start getting any ideas, Sasuke. I didn't come here by choice."

Sasuke tilted his head and gave him a smirk. "Oh? That's hardly surprising; you never think to do things for yourself, do you?"

Naruto clenched his fists unconsciously. Sasuke was seriously starting to piss him off…he still had not gotten over just how stupid he had been earlier, letting his mouth run off like that with Sakura. And with Sasuke-teme's insults dragging his pride in the dust, he was barely holding onto his temper. "Listen you fucking bastard," he growled out, "Sakura-chan's been worried about you. She's noticed how weird you've been acting these past few days." He snorted and looked away. "Shit, I really don't care, but…" he turned his head slightly to face Sasuke, "how _have_ you been doing, anyway?"

Naruto was surprised to see the slightly shocked look Sasuke was giving him, the ever-present scowl absent on his pale face. He blinked though, and the scowl had deepened. What the hell? Was he seeing things now? "It's none of your business."

"Of course it's my business, teme! You so thoughtfully chose me to fall in love with!" Naruto snapped, his anger finally getting the better of him. He slammed a fist into a nearby wall, creating a fist-sized dent into the plaster.

Sasuke's own dark eyes turned into daggers as he glared right back. "I wasn't the stupid idiot who blindly created a fucked-up genjutsu without reading the bloody scroll first!" He had raised his voice to match Naruto, not caring that he was showing anger when his mind screamed at him to be calm.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto thundered. "If you hadn't been spying on me you wouldn't have been hit!"

"And if you hadn't been born an usuratonkatchi I wouldn't be in this stupid mess! Damn it, Naruto!" Sasuke raked a hand harshly through his hair, growling in frustration. "Did you know it's been almost two weeks since I've had a good night's sleep? After that first night back from the mission, I've been too terrified to close my eyes and sleep because _you_—"he shoved a finger into Naruto's chest—"have been plaguing my dreams now! I can hardly focus on training, and every time I walk the streets I'd be imagining you were there!" Sasuke knew he was yelling now, and that he was babbling, but he didn't care. It just felt so good to be able to release all those pent-up emotions after plugging them up inside his mind for so damn long; and it felt even better because he was shouting at the one person he could put the finger of blame on.

Naruto was looking strangely at him now; he was frowning worriedly. Sasuke didn't give a damn about what Naruto thought at that minute, because he was not done yet. "Now you come looking for me when I explicitly told you to stay—the—hell—away—from—me! Wasn't I clear enough, dobe?!" He took a threatening step forward, his eyes bleeding into red, the two tomoe swirls in each eye distinct.

Naruto stood his ground, but the angry frown on his face was slowly diminishing at the onslaught of Sasuke's words. He had not known…he had not realized Sasuke had been going through so much! Well, it was partly the teme's fault; he was almost always alone, and he was shut up tighter than a clam to boot! _He can't blame me for all of it!_ Naruto thought indignantly, but he could not put a word in edgewise, because Sasuke always beat him to it. By now he was dangerously close, and Naruto could clearly see the Sharingan glowing an ominous scarlet in the semi-darkness. He had to do something, or else he might end up a pile of tattered flesh and broken bones on the side of the street.

"Sasuke, calm down," he managed to utter, his voice slightly rough. But Sasuke's only reaction was to scowl even more, his face turning into a snarl.

"Usuratonkatchi, you're the last person who has the slightest right to tell me that," he replied in a dangerously low tone. His chakra began to spike, blowing stray locks of his hair every which way.

_No good_. Naruto mentally swore, berating himself for being so…ugh. Why couldn't he just shut his trap and try to _think_ for once in his life? He sighed, and placed a hand gently on Sasuke's shoulder, a sad frown on his face. Yeah, Sasuke had a point, painful as it was to admit. He was _still_ at fault for Sasuke's predicament. Then Sasuke's words echoed in Naruto's head. A pin dropped. "Teme…you haven't dispelled it yet, have you?"

The sudden softness in Naruto's tone made Sasuke falter, and he stopped advancing. He felt the warmth of Naruto's hand on his left shoulder, a stark contrast to the coldness of his own skin. He shuddered and closed his eyes, the anger quickly being replaced by that very dangerous, volatile emotion he had come to associate when Naruto was this close. He opened his eyes, which had turned black once again. "Why do you care, dobe?" he hissed, trying to grab at the last fringes of self-control.

Naruto's blue eyes looked like twin pools of endless ocean. He sighed again, his frown more pronounced. "I want to know what's happening with you, teme."

Sasuke's breath hitched in his throat, his vision fading into a blur as he heard his voice coming from a mile away: "This is what's going on." And he felt his hands tug at Naruto's jacket, pulling him into a breathless, anguished kiss.

Naruto could do nothing but flutter his eyes close in response. The last thought that crossed his mind before it went blank was that he had not imagined Sasuke's lips being soft, because they were, even though the kiss was still as forceful as before. Sasuke was pressing against Naruto almost desperately, his hands pulling at Naruto's jacket almost to the point of tearing. Before Sasuke could run his tongue over Naruto's lips again the blond gennin decided it was enough, and pushed Sasuke back firmly but gently.

Sasuke did not resist, only stood back listlessly, his face drawn down, hidden by his dark hair. He looked so vulnerable and fragile Naruto was almost afraid to break the silence. "Sasuke…"

"I can't." His words were whispered, stripped of cold indifference and pride, leaving only stark truth which seemed to have robbed Sasuke of all his strength.

Naruto bit his lip and stayed silent. The way Sasuke held himself upright—like a man defeated and on the verge of death—made the words he wanted to say die in his throat. Instead he watched Sasuke quietly, as the Uchiha leaned his head back, neck arching gracefully upwards, until his eyes looked straight up into the darkening sky.

"I can't do it, " Sasuke continued. Although his tone was softer, his words rang clearly in the emptiness around them. "I can't dispel the genjutsu. I…" he took in a shuddering breath, closing his eyes momentarily. "I can't do anything."

Naruto shifted his footing, growing uncomfortable. What the hell was he supposed to say in response to that? He wasn't good with tense moods and cryptic conversations like this! "Listen, Sasuke…" he poked at something on the ground, focusing his eyes on it as he talked. "You know, I…hey!" When he looked up, Sasuke was already walking away. "What the hell?! OI! I'm STILL TALKING TO YOU, TEME!" He cursed under his breath and sprinted the distance Sasuke had managed to put between them. As he fell in step with his teammate Naruto shot him a pouting glare. "Why'd you walk out on me like that?"

"You can tell Sakura I'm fine," Sasuke replied curtly, his eyes staring straight ahead. His face was smooth again, without a trace of anything, and his tone chilled to its usual iciness.

Naruto watched him agape for a few moments, unable to believe it. "Th-that's it?"

Sasuke glanced at him once. Just once. "Yes."

"B-but…" Naruto spluttered, and pointed stiffly behind him. "Then what the hell was that all about?"

"You wanted to know what was going on," Sasuke replied smoothly. His voice gave nothing away. "So I told you."

"And?"

"And what? There is nothing more we should discuss."

"Like hell there isn't." Naruto growled. He pulled Sasuke roughly, making him face his penetrating blue eyes pulled into a frown. "You just told me you haven't dispelled the genjutsu yet. And you k-k-k—"

"Kissed you," Sasuke supplied calmly.

Naruto could feel the blush rising from his toes to the roots of his golden hair. "How can you say that so calmly?!"

Sasuke shrugged. "Because unlike you, I'm not a total ignorant fool." He smirked. "Maybe it would be better to call it something else? Like, I attached my mouth onto yours without your consent." He arched an eyebrow. "Is that better?"

"O-of course it isn't you fucking teme!" Naruto backed away from him as if stung, and regarded Sasuke warily. The mention of 'kissing' and 'mouth' made Naruto suddenly on-edge; the idea of leaving was quickly becoming a very appealing idea. "What's gotten into you, bastard? Why are you acting like a pervert all of a sudden?"

The smirk withered into a glare, and the iciness was back in place. "I am not a pervert," he snapped waspishly.

Naruto glared right back. "Then stop acting all weird and give me a straight answer."

Sasuke stiffened for a moment, his eyes ablaze. "It's quite obvious isn't it? The genjutsu isn't dispelled yet. And like I said before, physical contact only makes it worse. Which is why I'm leaving you here while I go home."

"But—"

"But what?" Sasuke cut in sharply. "Hadn't we agreed you wouldn't do anything and just stay out of my way?"

Naruto's anger flared in response to Sasuke's, and he stood up straighter. "Teme! You were the only one who wanted me to leave you alone!"

"Which is actually the smartest thing to do, given that you're a total moron!"

"Shut up! I am not a moron!"

"Keep telling yourself that and maybe you can convince that tiny little brain of yours to work!"

"Argh! I'm sick of arguing with you!" Naruto yelled, furiously pulling at his hair in agitation. He glared heatedly at Sasuke. "Would it kill you to ask me for help, you fucking bastard?"

The words struck a chord within Sasuke, and he stopped, his scowl still in place, but the words dying on his tongue. For a few moments they stood staring at each other, one in exasperated anger while the other in stubborn pride, the air thick with tension. Finally Sasuke turned away from Naruto, his words tight and thinly-controlled.

"Nothing can help, dobe."

Sasuke closed his eyes and waited for Naruto's diatribe, yelling about how nothing is impossible and all that optimistic gibberish. He steeled himself for the onslaught that was sure to come, taking a deep, calming breath—

—and stiffened suddenly when he heard Naruto's soft, calm voice right beside him. "Arrogant prick. We wouldn't know unless we try everything, right?"

Sasuke's eyes flew open, straight up into Naruto's face. He was wearing a smirk, his blue eyes almost glowing. He had gone right beside Sasuke without his knowing. For a few moments Sasuke blinked, trying to process exactly what happened. Naruto was offering help without strings attached?

_Well, of course. This is Naruto we're talking about. He'd never offer help and expect something in return._ It was one of the few things that made Naruto starkly different from Sasuke, and the Uchiha was secretly grateful for it. After another moment he settled for crossing his arms and letting out a sigh, his scowl lessened somewhat by the gesture. "You won't really stop pestering me unless I let you do what you want, would you? Fine. Come to my house later at midnight. We'll talk about it then." He turned to leave.

"Huh?" Naruto blinked in confusion after him. "Hey, wait a minute! What's wrong with talking about it now?" he yelled loudly.

Sasuke turned slightly and stopped, the scowl back in full force. "I'm tired and I'm hungry. After the training Kakashi had put us through, I'd be surprised if you're not, too."

Naruto stopped, and that was when his own stomach chose to betray him with a loud, distinct growl. He couldn't stop the blush that rose to his cheeks, or the embarrassed pout that pulled at his lips. What was worse was that Sasuke was now smirking at him.

"Usuratonkatchi."

Naruto bristled again like a kicked cat. "TEME!" he howled, raising a fist and waving it madly in the air as Sasuke walked away from him. He growled menacingly under his breath as he turned in the other direction and stomped off, muttering about self-righteous pricks and their god-damn pride.

He did not see the ghost of a smile that passed Sasuke's lips as he walked further into the semi-darkness of the empty street.

NxS NxS NxS

The walk back to his apartment was actually rather long, considering that the Uchiha compound was across the village from where he lived, but Naruto had not realized his feet had mechanically taken him to his doorstep until he was already there. His disapproving frown furrowed even more deeply between his brow, and he gritted his teeth to keep from mumbling curses as he fished out his keys and opened the door. Trust Sasuke to make him space off like that…_damn it! I hate thinking deeply like this! It only gives me headaches!_

The inside of his apartment showed all the visible signs of being unkempt: dirty dishes were piled mountain-high on the sink, articles of clothing were spread out in every corner of the house (most of them unwashed), and dust collected along the corners. But all his potted plants were vibrantly green, sitting on the sill of the windows along the living room and the kitchen. Naruto absently patted the topmost leaves of a nearby plant before letting himself sink into his bed.

He let his thoughts stray, and they invariably drifted off into his present worry, which concerned a certain pale and snobbish Uchiha. Naruto frowned into his pillow. He knew it wasn't fair to put all the blame on Sasuke; he had known that already. After all, he was the one who cast the genjutsu in the first place.

Scenes from the darkened alley flashed in his mind's eye. Naruto had been more than shocked at the way Sasuke's behavior changed so drastically. How can a genjutsu be that powerful? It was unnerving to witness Sasuke submit to an illusion and actually kiss him again. He turned over and let his fingers trace his partly open lips, the sensation of Sasuke's warmth grazing them impressed clearly in his mind.

Naruto frowned again, this time at his ceiling. This was all wrong. The illusion was making Sasuke act…very un-Sasuke like. And from the way Sasuke's eyes shifted from anger to helplessness in the twinkling of an instant, and the way his voice crackled with emotion, Sasuke knew it too.

And it was tearing him up inside.

It was at that moment Naruto decided he would help Sasuke remove this genjutsu, whatever it was. Sasuke was his rival, but foremost of all Sasuke was his friend. The very first friend Naruto had made, who did not flinch at the very sight of him. He at least owed Sasuke that much, didn't he?

_And I still haven't beaten that stuck-up teme on my own terms._

Filled with renewed determination, Naruto sat up in bed, his blue eyes flaring to life again, his mouth turned upwards into a grin. _That's right; if I help Sasuke now, he'll have no choice but to acknowledge me!_ "Alright!" he pumped a fist into the air and stood up, all foul moods immediately forgotten. "I'll show Sasuke-teme!" He headed into the kitchen and started boiling water for instant ramen, hoping midnight would arrive quickly.

NxS NxS NxS

_End Chapter 5._

_Please don't forget to send me your reviews after reading!_


	6. Chapter 6

Blinding Light

**Blinding Light**

_Sequel to "Wrapped in More than Kindness"_

_Warnings and Disclaimers: All Naruto names, places, and related indicia are copyright to Masashi Kishimoto. Only the plot, OCs, and writing style are mine. This story has been rated M for mature themes, languages, and graphic sexual scenes (for later chapters). It is also a shounen ai fic, meaning there is a boy x boy pairing inside (Naruto and Sasuke). If you are uncomfortable reading stories of this kind, please push the back button to spare your sanity._

_Author's Notes: Thanks for all the reviews I've been having so far, and all the hits! And the growing number of people who have put this story on their Alert list! (eyes now shining with profuse admiration) Thank you so very much!_

_Ah yes, and someone asked me what I meant by "graphic sexual scene". Well, it means vividly described sexual situations, whether foreplay or the part where they actually "make doodles", as one author has so delicately put it (sorry, I've forgotten the name of said author). Someone also asked me how old Naruto and Sasuke are in this fic. Currently they're both around 13, I think. Or 12. You know, right after the Chuunin exams._

_Something interesting: Did you know that in the Game Boy Advance version of Final Fantasy VI there is a dagger called Sasuke? It's not the strongest weapon by any means, but it is described as a 'blade thought to have belonged to a famous ninja'. I guess we all know who that is, eh? There's also another dagger-type weapon called Sakura, but in the NaruSasu (or SasuNaru) fandom it's a general consensus that anything related to Haruno Sakura ain't worth a penny. So. Moving on with the story…_

**Chapter 6**

Naruto adjusted his hitai ate and looked over himself in the mirror. His brows were furrowed slightly into a frown, his lips in a tight, determined line. Overall he gave the impression of someone who brooked no nonsense, silently demanding for an explanation. Good. He wanted Sasuke to see he was serious about helping him…about helping them both. Who wanted to live knowing he was the object of someone's unnatural desire?

He marched out of the apartment still wearing his frown, locking the door and taking a huge, deep breath before descending the stairs, making sure he did not make so much as a peep. His neighbors weren't exactly the friendly type, and if they found out Naruto had been out and prowling when they woke up they wouldn't let it slide past so easily. The tension left his shoulders only when he was already out in the dark street, the cold night enveloping him entirely.

It took him almost half an hour to jump from rooftop to rooftop, all the way to the Uchiha compound. It helped that the moon was bright, even though it was only three-quarters full. Naruto stopped just short of the compound's main entrance, eyeing his surroundings. Everything was dead silent before him. No lantern flickered bright orange flames and threw shadows at the walls, no stray dog barked at scuffling noises, no rats to make the scuffling noises to begin with. He turned around. The streets of Konoha were blanketed in darkness, but streetlamps dotted the hard-packed dirt roads and alleys at regular intervals. They looked like thin towers rising in the middle of islands of light. A cat mewled as it passed nearby, darting quickly into the shadows.

It suddenly occurred to Naruto just how different Sasuke's world was, how empty. He turned back to the mouth of the alley that led into Uchiha property. A ghost town, a reminder of a horrifying past. Not as traumatic as the Kyuubi attacking Konoha more than a decade ago, but horrifying just the same. More so to Sasuke than anyone else in the village.

His first step into the compound gave him a cold sense of foreboding, and he shivered despite his bright orange jacket.

He walked the rest of the way to Sasuke's house, his eyes darting from one open window to the next, like empty eye sockets staring out into the dead quiet street. Naruto had never been in this part of Konoha at night; no one he knew wandered here, and now he knew why. The very emptiness of the entire place was oppressive. His sharp nose could pick up the smell of dust, mold, and abandonment. For a moment he wondered at why he had never noticed it before, but then whenever he came here his mind was always focused on one thing only: Sasuke.

As he turned the corner, Sasuke's three-story house came into view. It was at the very center of the Uchiha compound, where the two largest streets intersect. A hub of activity for the Uchiha clan, Naruto suspected, when there was still a clan. Now there was only Sasuke and his borderline psychotic brother Itachi who had tried to do Naruto in once.

The house was actually quite simple, made of wood and stone and painted in black, white and browns. But it was quite large; The Uchiha main house had three gardens and one large training ground at the back, not to mention a bath house set up a little ways apart from the main house. Naruto looked up as he paused in front of the gate. The window on the top floor, on the far left, was Sasuke's room.

"Huh, no light." Naruto shrugged as he pushed the gate open, and it gave way to his touch with no effort. "Maybe the teme's down in the living room or something."

He picked his way through the winding gravel path that cut through the thick grass, grown wild at the edges. He tried the front door, and it opened with a soft click. Naruto was surprised, but then again Sasuke was expecting him, wasn't he?

Naruto let himself in, closing the door softly behind him. "Sasuke?" he called out, craning his neck and looking around for the Uchiha. "Oi, I'm already here! Where are you?"

"Over here."

_So he was waiting in the living room._ Naruto placed his hands in his pockets and put on the wary, no-nonsense face he had practiced on. _Right, this is it, Naruto._ He walked purposely inside.

The wide space was barely furnished; there was a set of three sofas surrounding a glass-topped coffee table, a tall dark wooden shelf on one wall, and a scroll with the Uchiha name in calligraphy hanging over an alcove in the corner. Three incense sticks were burning in a ceramic glazed jar underneath the scroll, and a single white crocus in a slender black vase. Sasuke himself was on the longest sofa, a scroll unrolled and spread across his knees. He was looking at Naruto with a scowl.

"You're late."

Naruto could feel a nerve tick on his temple. He pointed at the clock hanging on the nearby wall. "It's only two minutes after midnight," he bit out, resisting the urge to shout. He crossed his arms with a huff.

Sasuke only continued to stare at him, his scowl unwavering. "Where were you?"

Naruto stared agape at Sasuke. "Who died and made you my keeper?"

He saw Sasuke's eyebrow twitch once, and his scowl deepened murderously for a moment, but it disappeared when Sasuke shook his head. "Never mind. The important thing is that you're here." He gestured with his hand. "Sit down."

Naruto's wariness hiked up a notch. "Next to you?"

"Or on any one of the chairs in the room," Sasuke replied dryly. "Frankly I don't care. Maybe you want to sit on the floor—your choice."

Naruto grumbled darkly under his breath as he sat down on the sofa across from Sasuke. Their discussion wasn't going the way he had planned; it was time to handle the reins. He cleared his throat. "So…about that genjutsu…"

"Want anything to drink?" Sasuke asked suddenly, his eyes poring over the scroll in his lap. "Or anything to eat?" He said all of this in a very calm, almost bored tone.

The words Naruto wanted to say died into a gurgle against his throat as he regarded Sasuke incredulously. Sasuke was playing host? "N-no, I'm fine," Naruto managed to say after a while when Sasuke did not look up.

Sasuke shrugged again. "Suit yourself."

Naruto blinked. "So…"

This time Sasuke looked up, his face a blank stone, one eyebrow arched delicately in a silent question.

"What did you want to tell me about the genjutsu?" Naruto clenched his teeth, annoyed at the way Sasuke was acting so…bland. He had come here, all fretful and worried about this stupid predicament they were both in, and Sasuke seemed all calm and collected?!

Sasuke put aside the scroll and looked at Naruto with a grimace. "If I remember correctly, I didn't want to tell you anything. But you pestered me into it." His eyes bore accusingly at Naruto.

Annoyance quickly flared into anger, and Naruto's blue eyes glared right back. "Just tell me what this technique is about so I can get home and sleep!"

For a moment Sasuke's eyes bled red: a dangerous sign; Naruto blinked and stilled his tongue. It always surprised him how easily Sasuke could hide his anger when he was always fighting to keep his own temper down, but now he was even more surprised to find that Sasuke had been so easily pushed to the edge, stopping just short of bloody murder. A cold wave of worry passed through the blond gennin. It seemed that he just narrowed that already-tiny gap with his hasty words.

But Sasuke closed his eyes at the last minute, sighing as he leaned back into the sofa. When he opened his eyes, they were back to being as cold and black as onyx. "Here, read it." He threw the scroll on his lap to Naruto, who caught it reflexively in one hand.

Naruto spared Sasuke a doubtful look. "Where did you get this?"

"Archives," Sasuke replied without batting an eyelash.

"What!" Naruto blurted out. "But that's stealing!"

"It's not stealing when you plan to return it," Sasuke pointed out in a bored tone. "And besides, if they really didn't want anything stolen, they shouldn't have put idiotically lax security on the area."

Naruto wanted to point out that Sasuke had already confessed to stealing with those words, but thought better of it. Unrolling the scroll Naruto scanned through the yellowed paper, the ink already faded and smudged on the edges, but still visible.

_Special Genjutsu Technique for Ninjas_

_Level of Difficulty: B_

_Best suited for: Reconnaissance_

_A genjutsu is a technique that uses only a small portion of chakra, but has potent effects. It alters the victim's perception of reality…_

Naruto frowned slightly. This was the introductory part of all genjutsu scrolls; no wonder he had switched it with his own scroll by mistake. A voice inside his head mocked him, saying that he wouldn't have made the mistake if only he labeled all his scrolls properly, but he pointedly ignored it.

Skipping a few paragraphs down, ignoring the big red stamp that said the technique was outdated, Naruto continued.

_This technique, though easy to apply, is considered highly dangerous and unpredictable. Research into the peculiar effect of this genjutsu was not finished because the original creator of the technique could not be found._

_As far as studies have discovered this genjutsu uses chakra to enable the user's body to create pheromones that will only attract his target. Unfortunately, the amount of pheromone released is…_

Naruto looked up with a confused look on his face. "Oi, Sasuke. What's this pheromone thing?"

"It's a chemical the body produces, baka. It's what attracts one person to another."

Naruto only gave him a blank look. Sasuke scowled and crossed his arms.

"It's the scientific way of explaining how people fall in love," Sasuke snapped.

"Oh…got it." Naruto turned back to the scroll. "You don't have to be so touchy about it," he mumbled just loud enough.

Sasuke glared at him. "Dobe."

"Teme."

"Tch. Get a move on with reading, will you?"

"I'm reading, I'm reading!" Naruto hastily answered when he shot a glance at Sasuke. His pale face screamed murder at him. He quickly turned back to the scroll and continued to read.

…_uncontrollable; adding to that the fact that human behavior when attracted to another is rather unexplainable brings about varying results. Mildest and most common of these is a slight infatuation which is easily handled and can be used by the genjutsu-user to influence his target's behavior and decisions. _

Naruto looked up at Sasuke briefly before continuing to read thinking, Nope, we're not dealing with some simple crush problem. The vivid mental image of Sasuke's three previous attempts to smother Naruto with his lips floated to the surface. Naruto hastily bent back over the scroll until his nose almost touched the paper, hoping Sasuke did not see the blood rush to his face.

_Some shinobi reportedly used this technique with stronger effects; several of them (mostly jounins) noted that their targets have become seriously attracted to them physically and emotionally. The most severe cases have found themselves the unwitting objects of devout loyalty, blinding dedication, and intense desire it can almost be described as having power over a servant willing to do your every bidding._

"What?" Naruto gaped at the scroll, then at Sasuke, then the scroll again. "Is this thing for real?"

Sasuke smiled bitterly. "It gets worse."

Naruto stared disbelievingly at him for a moment before he continued reading.

_Though effects vary, it has been made certain that several things can cause the emotions stirred within the target to intensify. Proximity to the genjutsu-user is one, along with actual physical contact. Prolonged exposure to the technique also makes it more difficult to reverse the effects of the genjutsu._

_Other side effects of the technique are mostly unknown, except for a unique synchronization of the target's chakra with the genjutsu-user, making him attenuated to the latter's location._

"Attenuated? What the fuck?"

"I'll show you," Sasuke said while standing up. He took a strip of dark cloth from his pockets and blindfolded himself. "Stand anywhere in the room, but do it as quietly as you can. And mask your chakra."

Naruto looked incredulous. "What the—"

"Just do it!" Sasuke snapped, and even though his eyes were hidden Naruto knew he was scowling at him. "I'll count to ten."

Not wanting to provoke Sasuke's anger anymore than he already had, Naruto resignedly got up from the sofa. "Fine, I'll play along." Careful not to hit any of the furniture, he tiptoed away from the sofa and circled the room until he was directly behind Sasuke, just as the Uchiha got to nine.

Naruto scowled and crossed his arms. What the hell was Sasuke up to?

"Ten," came Sasuke's voice, and Naruto's thoughts halted to a crash when Sasuke turned around and raised his arm, pointing directly at him. Without taking off the blindfold, he said, "This was what the scroll was talking about."

Naruto's eyes bulged. _The hell…how did he know where I was?_ Experimentally, he took three steps to the left, then shuffled over to the right. Sasuke's index finger followed him. Curious now, Naruto let a minute trickle of chakra flow to his feet, and he started walking up the wall.

Sasuke's brow lowered into a frown. "Will you stop moving around the room? It's annoying." He lowered his arm and pulled off the blindfold, looking up at Naruto with a scowl.

Naruto just let the scowl pass over him. He nimbly jumped down and sat back on his seat. "How the hell did you do that?"

Sasuke ran a hand roughly through his hair, making the ends stick up even more wildly than usual. "Did you actually understand what you read, dobe?"

Defensive anger flared in Naruto's eyes as he glared back. "O-Of course I did! I just wanted to make sure we both understood it right." He nodded almost to himself and crossed his arms, his lower lip pulled down slightly in what he thought was a serious, thoughtful expression. He hoped Sasuke wouldn't see past his little lie though; he didn't understand shit of what he had read.

Sasuke being Sasuke, saw right through Naruto but did not bother to point it out. What for? He had known Naruto for a long time now, and the usuratonkatchi would never change. The thought, strangely enough, made him want to smile, which in turn made him even more annoyed. His frown grew darker instead. "Because of the genjutsu I'm now attenuated with your chakra. That means I can pinpoint where you are even if I'm not seeing you. But only to a certain degree."

Naruto tilted his head and pursed his lips. His eyes squinted with the effort to understand what Sasuke was saying. "So…so that means you'll know exactly where I am anywhere I go?" His face turned indignant. "But what about my privacy?!"

A pale hand ran down a pale, irritated face. "You only got it half right. Why do I even bother telling you all of this?" Before Naruto could retaliate, Sasuke continued sharply. "I won't exactly know where you are. The further you are from me, the less accurately I could tell your location."

The aghast expression on Naruto's face faded. "Oh. So how far?"

"What?"

"How far before you can't tell where I am?" Naruto's blue eyes looked at him, face full of curiosity.

Sasuke returned to where he had been sitting and looked away, clearing his throat. "Last time I checked, a little over 900 meters."

A 900 meter-radius did not appear to be that large; in Naruto's estimation, his house was more than seven kilometers away from Sasuke's. Then something Sasuke said tickled at Naruto's mind. "Wait. Last time you checked?"

Sasuke's mouth twisted bitterly. "That was yesterday."

Naruto could feel uneasiness starting to churn in his stomach. "And?"

"And…" Sasuke took a deep breath and let it out with a huff. "Five days ago it was just short of 150 meters."

Naruto felt downright alarmed. "You mean this attenuation thing is going to get even worse?" He opened the scroll and laid it out on the coffee table. "This thing must know exactly when that's going to stop…"

"It doesn't," Sasuke replied, his voice strangely flat. "I already read through it a hundred times." He looked at Naruto. "But I think it's going to spread out even further the longer this genjutsu stays on me."

"How can you be so sure?"

Sasuke stared stonily at him. "Before tonight, I didn't think I could have pinpointed where you were if I blindfolded myself and couldn't sense your chakra."

Naruto groaned, letting his head slump down on the glass table with a muted thud. "Proximity and physical contact only makes it worse…" he mumbled. His eyes widened with the realization, and he quickly scrambled up to his feet, crumpling the scroll in the process. "Shit."

"Oh, so you've noticed?" Sasuke asked wryly, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "That's why I keep telling you to stay away from me. But did you listen?" His eyes bled red, the tomoe swirls distinct now. "No."

Naruto swallowed hard, half-stumbling backwards before he could stop himself. Then he remembered exactly why he would not—COULD NOT—just stay away. "Hey, wait a minute! I gave you my word I would help, and besides, who else can you turn to for help?" He planted his feet firmly on the floor and crossed his arms. "I'm staying."

"I can help myself perfectly well without you," Sasuke snapped, the red in his eyes making his scowl even more threatening than before. "And staying here will only make things worse, remember?"

"There has to be some sort of safety zone, right?"

Sasuke stopped, blinking. His Sharingan eyes reverted back to black. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, shouldn't there be like a safe enough distance that you wouldn't be too…bothered by me?" Naruto almost said 'caught up with the urge to kiss me', but luckily caught himself and changed what he was going to say.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say that was ridiculous, but then he tried to consider it. Naruto had a point. But he would rather die than admit to the dobe that he could be right. It was an established law of Nature that Naruto would always be wrong, and Sasuke always right. "How do you propose we find that out?"

Naruto grinned. At last Sasuke was cooperating. "Stand by the alcove over there." Naruto stood up and looked at Sasuke. "Come on!"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes Sasuke did what he was told. When he reached the alcove he turned around…and frowned when he saw Naruto right in front of him. A thrill of electricity shot up through his spine, bringing with it an onrush of delicious warmth than made Sasuke's breath hitch. "What are you doing?" he asked, and cursed himself for sounding so out-of-breath. He bit his inner lip, feeling the blood suffuse through his cheeks.

But Naruto did not appear to notice. Instead he tilted his head and scratched his temple with a finger. "How do you feel when I'm this near?"

_Funny you should ask_. Sasuke scowled at him while trying to ignore the way his heart was beating very loudly in his ears. "What do you think? Shouldn't you be able to tell from what happened the last time we were this close?" His left hand twitched, and he had to use all his self-control to stop himself from pulling at Naruto's jacket and feel those soft lips against…_Shit! No! Stop thinking like that!_

Seeing Naruto's cheeks flush into a rosy hue made Sasuke want to smirk, but then another jolt fizzled through his skin, making the desire to kiss Naruto even stronger than before. The effort made his smirk twist into a grimace. "What now, dobe?" he hissed.

Naruto jumped at the sound of Sasuke's voice, flustered. "Ah…eh, just stay there." He took five steps back, Sasuke's skeptical eyes following him. "How about now?"

There was a slight pause, when Sasuke shook his head. "Better step back some more."

Naruto obliged, backing up several steps until he was past the sofa. "Here?"

Sasuke closed his eyes, asking himself a mental question: _Do I still want to kiss Naruto?_ A dizzying rush threatened to overcome him in delicious heat, every pore in his body screaming YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES—his eyes flew open. "No change," he managed to say in a steadying breath.

He thought Naruto must have heard the strain of panic in his voice, because he hurriedly took a few more steps away from him, until he was just a bit over halfway across the room. "Now? How about now?" Naruto asked.

It took Sasuke a few moments longer to answer. He was trying to gauge his reaction to Naruto's proximity. There was still the constant dull ache borne from the sudden, sharp piercing pain that had him seeing nothing but blinding white the moment the genjutsu settled onto him. It was something he was getting quite accustomed now, he realized all of a sudden. It flared and waned whenever something that was linked to the blond gennin caught his attention: something orange or warm golden yellow, the blueness of the sky, something akin to the sound of his annoying loud voice. It grew into a numbing, hazy sensation when Naruto was actually anywhere near him, awakening a strong desire to be as close to Naruto as he could possibly get…and in Sasuke's mind that meant kissing him until the yearning went away, a yearning so acute it was painful. Sasuke shuddered at the realization, suddenly feeling cold and hot at the same time. It made his stomach queasy.

"Oi, Sasuke, are you still with me?"

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open. Now was not the time to be caught up in his thoughts. He focused on the feeling; it was still there, but slightly subdued, as if a curtain had fallen over it. The desire to kiss Naruto was definitely there, too, but he could hold it off…sort of. He needed to focus a bit more on the task at hand, but his left hand had stopped twitching. "This is fine."

He could see Naruto's shoulders ease up, tension lifting away. "Really?" He grinned. "That's great. Now we're getting somewhere." He rubbed his hands together enthusiastically.

Sasuke could not help raising a skeptical brow. "How will this help things?"

Naruto smirked, a strange gleam in his eyes. "Keh, you haven't thought of this before, have you?"

_Yes, mainly because it's meaningless and downright stupid._ But instead of voicing his thought Sasuke only shrugged. "Just get on with it."

Naruto's smirk changed into a sharp glare for one moment before returning full force. He puffed out his chest and pointed at Sasuke. "Listen, teme! This only goes to show that you can still get this close to me without going freaky because of the genjutsu—and that means I can still help you."

Sasuke frowned. "Going…freaky?"

He could see Naruto's cheeks flush slightly as he put on a defensive frown. "Y-yeah!" he replied, his voice slightly unsure. "I mean, what else would you call what's been happening to you?"

The Uchiha did not reply immediately. "Fine. Although it's a lame thing to name it."

Naruto flinched back, wariness returning in his blue eyes. "You…you want to _name it_?"

Sasuke could sense where Naruto's thoughts were going, and it made his stony glare as cold as ice, his voice sharp. "Can we get back to your genius-of-a-plan to help me instead of wasting our time?"

Naruto began to open his mouth to say he wasn't the one who started it, but then closed it back. Sasuke had a point. _Again_. Grudgingly he crossed his arms and huffed. "From what I hear, we only have one option to find a solution to removing this genjutsu." His mouth twisted unpleasantly at the thought of what he was going to propose. "We'll have to research more on this technique."

"And where are we going to start researching?"

"The library of course!" Naruto answered, emphasizing it by slapping a fist into his other hand. "That musty old place holds hundreds of scrolls—it'd be impossible not to find at least one that has something about this genjutsu!"

For once, Sasuke could find no reason to disagree. He turned thoughtful, tapping a finger against his lower lip as he shifted his weight to one foot so he could stand more comfortably. "But that would take days, even weeks."

Naruto sat down on the floor with a grunt. "I didn't say we have to take a look at all the bloody scrolls." He cast his eyes on Sasuke. "Can't you think of any way we can make this easier for us?"

Instead of answering, Sasuke walked up to the coffee table. He stopped when he saw Naruto crawl backwards on the floor, using his legs to push against the wood and his arms to propel him backwards. "What are you doing dobe?"

Naruto frowned and pulled down his bottom lip, pink diffused in his cheeks. "I have to maintain the distance between us, teme."

"Ah." Sasuke picked up the scroll on the coffee table, a smirk on his lips. "I see."

Naruto bristled when he saw the smirk. "Bastard! Don't laugh at me!"

"I'm not laughing," Sasuke answered smoothly, but the smirk remained. Really, if it had been anybody else seeing Naruto like that, they'd be all over the floor laughing. But he was Uchiha Sasuke; he'd never laugh. He'd smirk. He sat back on the chair he had previously occupied and ran through the contents of the scroll again.

"Keh, fucking teme," Naruto grumbled to himself. He had already reached the other side of the room. Deciding to get comfortable, Naruto leaned against the wall and stretched out his legs, although he let his arms remain crossed in front of him.

Silence reigned in the room for a few minutes with Sasuke busily studying the scroll, allowing Naruto's eyes to roam. He had been to Sasuke's house several times before, but he had never let his gaze settle on anything for too long. On hindsight, maybe it was Sasuke who had never let Naruto stay long enough to look at anything properly. He always seemed anxious to leave the house, although nothing about Sasuke could ever be described as anxious. Naruto just sort of knew.

The house was actually kind of nice. It had a lived-in sort of feel to it, everything neat and clean, even though it was almost bare. Naruto suspected even the floor under the mats and carpets were free of dust. That made his lips quirk into a smile. It was hard to picture Sasuke getting on his hands and knees to wipe floors or even touch a broom. The image was funny. Naruto tried to add a white scarf and a frilly apron into the picture, and it became downright hilarious.

"What's so funny, dobe?"

Naruto did not realize he was already chuckling until Sasuke asked. He looked up and saw Sasuke staring at him with a flat expression, but his eyes told him he was quite curious. Naruto grinned and only waved a hand at him in a gesture. "Nothing, I just thought about something funny."

Sasuke stared at him for a few moments more before shrugging. "Whatever. I think I have it, though."

Naruto perked up. "Really?"

Sasuke held the scroll in one hand. "This technique is already obsolete. That means we only need to look up scrolls dated to before it was banned. Plus we only need to concern ourselves with those scrolls on genjutsus and nothing else. It's still a lot to cover, but now we don't need to scour the entire library."

"Alright!" Naruto stood up, feeling energized now that they had a lead. "We can start researching tomorrow—err, I mean later, right after training." Naruto looked at Sasuke. "We only have training today…right?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You didn't listen to Kakashi yesterday, didn't you?"

Naruto huffed in indignation. "I was too worried about how you've been acting to care about what Kakashi-sensei tells." He looked at Sasuke, and saw a weird expression flicker in his face. "What?"

"Nothing." Sasuke busied himself with rolling up the scroll again, not looking at Naruto. "We're having practice with Gai-sensei's team tomorrow. He challenged Kakashi to a handstand race, didn't you remember?"

Naruto winced as the mental image of Maito Gai's forest green leotard-clad body posed theatrically appeared in his mind. "Oh yeah. Hey!" He looked at Sasuke. "Didn't Lee challenge you to a fight, too?"

"Hm."

"…So you gonna take him up on it?"

Sasuke tilted his head in Naruto's direction and looked flatly at him. "It never occurred to me to back out." He gestured to Naruto with a nod of his head. "How about you? Fighting with Hyuuga Neji?"

"Neji?" Naruto blinked, before grinning. "Nah, we're cool. I think he said it'd be good if we trained together…maybe we'll just hang out while you spar with Lee. Sakura and TenTen are gonna be paired up, too. He was interested in trying out his Byakuugan on my shadow clones—heh, I figured he'd want that 'cause I owned his ass during the Chuunin exams…"

Sasuke did not understand why flames of anger suddenly licked at his insides, making his head throb. The strange urge to hit something threatened to overcome him so much he had to clench his fists and grit his teeth to stop from shaking. What the hell?

"…and Lee invited me to spar with him too, although I think I'm gonna pass. I saw what he did in his fight with Gaara—he's too quick for me right now. I have to do speed training first. I mentioned it to Neji a while back, and he told me he could help…"

Sasuke bit back the grunt that threatened to escape his lips. Why was he feeling so angry? He stole a glance at Naruto, still happily chatting about his conversation with the Hyuuga yesterday. Sasuke froze.

Oh _HELL_ no.

Naruto stopped mid-chat when Sasuke abruptly rose to his feet and began walking away. Actually, he looked more like stomping away, the way he had his fists clenched stiffly on both sides, his legs moving mechanically. The blond tilted his head, a look of confusion on his face. "Where're you goin'?"

Sasuke stopped but did not look back. "I'm going to sleep. I trust you can see yourself out?"

"Well, yeah—"

"Then I'll see you later." Sasuke headed to one of the inner hallways that branched out of the living room. "Lock the door when you leave."

"Uhh…okay," was all Naruto managed to say before Sasuke was out of sight. He frowned to himself. "Now what's going on with him?" He stared long at the spot where Sasuke had disappeared, before growling under his breath. "Ah, hell. Trying to understand what's going on in his head will only drive me nuts." He stretched his arms over his head, interlacing his fingers and resting then on his nape in a carefree gesture he had acquired during childhood. "Might as well go…"

He left the way he came in, making sure to lock the front door with a sharp click. As he walked down the pebbled path Naruto looked up. There was still no light in Sasuke's bedroom window. Maybe he liked sleeping in the dark? He thought no more of it as he walked back to his apartment, already anxious to crawl into his bed and sleep.

NxS NxS NxS

Sasuke headed straight out the backyard, into the cool night. A slight breeze cooled his heated skin, leaving tiny puffs of mist as he gulped in lungfuls of air. While he had been in the living room only moments before, the anger had been so strong it almost choked him. It had taken every ounce of his strength to restrain himself and keep the Sharingan in check. He thought it was next to impossible to keep calm as he talked to Naruto.

After three more deep breaths, Sasuke could feel his rigid shoulders loosen; the anger was beginning to cool. He walked over to the large tree in the corner and let himself slide down against the rough bark until he sat down on the hard-packed dirt.

He had been jealous. Sasuke realized that now, loathsome though it was to admit. The moment Naruto mentioned the Hyuuga's name, he had been overcome with a strong desire to punch Neji's nose in and keep Naruto as far away from him as humanly possible. This was utter nonsense. Why would he be jealous of Neji?

Sasuke groaned as he thumped the back of his head against the tree. "Don't tell me this is because of that fucking genjutsu, too…" he whispered hoarsely to no one. Even as he said it he knew it was true. "Shit."

NxS NxS NxS

"Is it true there isn't a way to reverse it?" Kakashi's voice was calm, but Tsunade could detect the note of worry in it. She hid her knowing smirk behind a cup full of sake, feeling the warm wine run down her throat.

She set down the cup on the desk, miraculously cleared of papers, and gave a light shrug. "Probably. I've never heard anyone use the genjutsu lately."

"Lately," Kakashi repeated, his one visible eye sharp. His brows furrowed slightly. "You mean it's been used before?"

Tsunade gave out a loud snort. "Of course it has. It was outdated about thirty years ago when the Council realized it was too dangerous to use anymore. Before that, it had been a very good reconnaissance tool."

Kakashi was standing before her from across the room, his entire body relaxed. But she knew where to look. Although one hand was casually pocketed, the other that held this Icha Icha Paradise book was gripping the paperbound tightly. "And you've never heard of anyone dispelling the illusion?"

"Why would they?" Tsunade countered, leaning back into her chair, making it creak slightly. "A shinobi uses every opportunity to his advantage, and wastes none. Why dispel an illusion that would guarantee you had a source of information, especially if it was well-placed?"

Kakashi looked down. "None can be more treacherous than the lover sharing your bed."

"Except when said lover is totally under your control," answered Tsunade coolly. She ignored the slight widening of Kakashi's eyes. "After the Council banned the technique, no one used it ever again, but no one dispelled their previous targets, either."

"They did not, or they could not?"

"I am not really sure." Tsunade turned thoughtful. "I have never used the technique before, myself."

"I see." Kakashi sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Shouldn't we help them, at least? I admit it's rather cute to see Naruto and Sasuke trip over their own feet trying to fix this, but you have to admit it might get pretty serious later on."

"Think for a moment Kakashi. What do you think Naruto would do if he knew that we'd known about their predicament all along?" She paused for a while to let the question sink in. "What would Sasuke do?"

Kakashi sighed again, this time resignedly. "Don't tell me we'll just leave them to solve the problem on their own."

Tsunade grinned. "Exactly. It will be good training for the both of them, don't you think?"

Kakashi blinked. "Training?" He mulled over it for a moment. "Oh…you mean _that_ training." A smile quirked on his lips. "Since you put it that way…"

Tsunade's grin deepened into a knowing smirk. "Just keep a watch on them. Anyway, they'll straighten things out eventually."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "How can you be sure?"

Tsunade poured herself another cup of sake, smacking her lips together as the alcohol warmed her insides. She gave Kakashi a knowing smile. "With Naruto's stubbornness and the Uchiha's determination and pride? That genjutsu wouldn't stand a chance." She was sure of it. They would solve this, one way or another. Their characters simply would not allow them to be bullied and cornered into a situation they could not have at least some semblance of control.

If only Tsunade knew, she would have taken back her words and let Kakashi deal with the two boys that instant. Or maybe she would have taken care of it herself. Because although Naruto and Sasuke managed to straighten things out in the end, it was not in the manner Tsunade had thought it would be.

NxS NxS NxS

_End of Chapter 6._

_More notes: Oh god, it's been such a long while. (blinks stupidly) How's everyone been doing? Fine I hope (or at least better than I am)…it's been ages since I had enough time to sit down in front of my computer long enough to string together a few decent sentences to make another chapter._

_Anyway… lime alert! LIME ALERT! The next chapter will contain limes (read: milder version of a lemon) so be prepared! Hah!_

_And I would appreciate it very much if you left a review after reading. :) _


	7. Chapter 7

**Blinding Light**

_Sequel to "Wrapped in More than Kindness"_

_Warnings and Disclaimers: All Naruto names, places, and related indicia are copyright to Masashi Kishimoto. Only the plot, OCs, and writing style are mine. This story has been rated M for mature themes, languages, and graphic sexual scenes (for later chapters). It is also a shounen ai fic, meaning there is a boy x boy pairing inside (Naruto and Sasuke). If you are uncomfortable reading stories of this kind, please push the back button to spare your sanity._

_Author's Notes: See the disclaimer up there? This chapter is what I was warning you about (among others…many others). Chapter seven contains LIME; just a little taste of what's up ahead. So buckle up in your seats ladies and gentlemen…_

_Just so you know, there will be no explicit sexual scenes. Lime, remember?_

NxS NxS NxS

**Chapter 7**

Hyuuga Neji rubbed at his nose delicately with a finger. Both Lee and Ten Ten looked at him with slight curiosity, but it was Ten Ten who spoke up. "Are you getting down with a cold, Neji? That's the third time you've sneezed in the last half hour."

Lee immediately took up a pose. "Yosh! It would be best for Neji to get a good rest—it would not do for Youth to be spoiled by an ugly and un-youthful cold!"

"I'm fine," Neji replied casually, pointedly ignoring the way Lee maintained his pose with a serious, determined expression. Instead he turned his pale, milk-white gaze on Ten Ten. "Where is Gai-sensei?"

They were gathered in front of Ichiraku's, right across the street. The sun was already high above them, but the day was relatively cool. They were doing training with Team Seven, at the insistence of their teacher, Maito Gai. This was something the green spandex-clad jounin had recently come up with to solve two things: how to train his students and how to challenge Hatake Kakashi and finally prove who was best between them. Neji honestly had no problem with the arrangement, but he considered it a waste of time whenever both teams paused in mid-training to watch Gai-sensei put it into his head to challenge his masked jounin rival. Which, unfortunately, was all the time.

Ten Ten squinted up at the sky overhead, one hand coming up to shield her eyes. "He should be here by now; he told me he was going to make sure Kakashi-sensei and his team comes here without delay."

"Yosh! What a brilliant idea! I shall go and assist Gai-sensei in his noble quest!"

Ten Ten grabbed a handful of Lee's own green spandex sleeve and pulled him back, her deep brown eyes sharp. "You're staying _here_," she enunciated clearly. Her free hand suddenly brandished three kunai.

"Y-Yosh." Lee gulped and stayed where he was. Neji sighed. Over the years he had grown accustomed to Rock Lee's outlandish and mostly loud attitude, but the thought of spending the day with both Lee _and_ Uzumaki Naruto made a nerve in his temple twitch. It wasn't because he hated Naruto—quite the opposite in fact—but did they have to be so loud all the time?

Still, training with Naruto would be interesting. His slight annoyance was quickly replaced with anticipation. The loudmouthed blond had actually beaten him during the Chuunin exams when he had the upper hand. Neji wanted a rematch, and he wanted to talk to Naruto. The words he had told him still rang clearly in his mind.

Could you really alter your fate and choose your own destiny?

After the exams he and Naruto had gradually become friends; Naruto would often greet him enthusiastically whenever they crossed paths on the street, and he would give his own (more dignified) greeting, accompanied by a half-smile. Neji never smiled, and he rarely noticed anyone in the streets; it surprised Ten Ten and elated Lee. Needless to say it brought tears to Gai-sensei, exclaiming that his student was starting to enjoy the "Springtime of Youth".

It surprised Neji, too. But it was more of a pleasant, subdued surprise. It seemed as if his fight with Naruto changed something within him. He wasn't as high strung or as reserved. Even his cousin Hinata noticed, although she had never told him out loud. His relationship with the main family was still on tenterhooks, but not as tensed and brittle as before.

He was abruptly pulled from his thoughts when his senses alerted him. "Gai-sensei is coming. I think he's with Team Seven."

Ten Ten nodded, a small smile on her face. Lee energetically struck a pose again. Both looked in the same direction as Neji did.

They saw Gai-sensei emerge from the corner, one arm casually slung over Kakashi-sensei's shoulder, the other held aloft with a thumbs-up sign at them. His dazzling white teeth gleamed in the sun as he smiled. Ten Ten sighed and Neji's eyebrow twitched, but Lee's response was to imitate their sensei's "cool-guy pose".

"If it weren't for the fact that Gai-sensei is actually one of the best jounin in the village I'd have begged to be transferred to another team ages ago," Ten Ten muttered under her breath.

Neji wisely avoided comment, and watched the approaching people instead. Kakashi was intently reading a bright orange book held in one hand, apparently ignoring Gai-sensei's arm. Behind them were Team Seven: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto.

Neji frowned slightly at the sight of Sasuke. The Uchiha was usually stoic and placid, belying an astonishingly good repertoire of ninjutsu and a mastery of taijutsu that was almost at par with Lee, but something seemed off today. He was a good distance behind the rest of the approaching group, and he was staring murderously at Naruto's back.

He raised an eyebrow slightly. It was not uncommon to see Naruto and Uchiha fight, but most of those could be called childish bickering. The look on Uchiha's face was undiluted anger…at what, Neji wasn't sure.

The fact that the look was directed at Naruto though, provided him with a clue.

As the group approached, Naruto caught sight of Neji watching. He raised an arm in a frenzied wave. "Hey Neji! How've you been?" His voice was loud enough to be heard three blocks away, but Naruto did not seem to care. His face was stretched into a wide grin that showed almost all of his teeth. Neji, as always, could not help the small smile that crept up his face in response. It was most peculiar how Naruto's smile could affect even him.

"Naruto. Still as loud as ever, aren't you?"

Instead of bristling in anger, Naruto actually puffed out his chest in pride. "Yep! Stronger, too."

Neji could see Sakura roll her eyes at Naruto's proclamation. His smile changed subtly into a smirk of amusement. "Really. Maybe you could show me during training, then?"

Naruto's answering smirk was charged with anticipation. "You're on!" His eyes shifted to Lee, and the smirk melted into another grin. "Hey unibrow! I heard you're sparring with Sasuke-teme; kick his ass good for me will ya? But don't pummel him too good; I want to be able to get to him first and pound him to the ground!" He laughed boldly, and this time Kakashi-sensei sighed along with Sakura.

Neji watched, transfixed, as Uchiha Sasuke's murderous glare vanished, his face growing quite slack, before blood rushed to his cheeks and neck along with a scowl he directed firmly to the ground. Neji's interest was piqued; he had not expected such an unusual reaction from the Uchiha. He let his pale gaze stay on him. "Something wrong, Sasuke?"

Naruto turned to Neji for a moment, before looking behind him. Neji watched Naruto's face carefully. Something flashed in his eyes, something that made his enthusiasm waver for a blink of an eye, before his grin came back. "Nah, don't mind him—he's been all hyped up about his match with Lee." He forced a laugh, which was markedly more subdued than the last. Neji chose not to comment further.

Gai took that moment to give everyone his trademark grin. "Yosh! We'll be training down at Field 3—you all know your partners, don't you?" All the gennin nodded. "Then we will start with a race to get our blood pumping! First pair to reach Field 3 will win a free pair of Green Beast Spandex TM from me!" He winked and posed again.

"Oh, Sensei! Such generosity!" Lee gushed, valiantly trying to blink back tears.

Sakura looked as if she had swallowed something nasty. "Who would want to be caught wearing _that_?" She whispered almost to herself, pointedly staring at Gai's own spandex attire.

Tenten, who was standing right beside her, only shook her head and sighed. "Don't even ask—Naruto looks like he just might take up Gai-sensei's offer." They turned their heads in unison at Naruto, who was jumping up and down in excitement at the prospect of a race and winning a prize at the end.

Neji only ignored the ruckus that Naruto and Lee were already starting to make—something about doing the race on one foot only—and discreetly threw a glance at Sasuke, who had been staying out of the conversation all the while. He was standing a little ways from their group.

Filing away that information for later, Neji raced the other gennin to Training Field 3, easily taking the lead. As he predicted, Lee was close behind him, followed by Naruto, Tenten, and Sakura. Surprisingly, Sasuke was last, his face still set in a deep scowl.

Neji heard Naruto's loud voice from behind. "Hey bastard! Why are you so slow today?" He could hear the smirk in his tone.

The Hyuuga knew Naruto was talking to Sasuke; there was no one else he called a bastard on such a regular basis. Sasuke seemed to have answered something in response, because he heard Naruto say, "Oh yeah," in a sheepish tone.

Neji could feel his eyebrow rising. Something was apparently going on, and it kept Sasuke a firm distance away from Naruto. Curious, he slackened his pace a bit to get nearer, and Lee swallowed the distance between them in a blink to take the lead. Neji did not mind; it was only a race after all.

When he was right beside Naruto, easily keeping pace, he turned to him. "Something going on between you and Sasuke?"

Blue eyes blinked at him in confusion for a moment, before Naruto grinned. "It's nothing. Just the usual—him being an ass." He laughed forcibly again.

Neji stared at Naruto, then at Sasuke. He was startled to see that Sasuke was now glaring at _him._ Instead of being ruffled, Neji merely frowned slightly at him before turning back to Naruto. "Seems like he's being more of an ass than usual," he commented lightly.

"Tch. Sasuke's always like that," Naruto scoffed. "You'll get used to it."

Neji made a noncommittal sound, racing with the others in silence the rest of the way. They arrived only three seconds after Lee, who was striking up a victory pose in front of Gai-sensei. Kakashi was already there, of course, reading his bright orange book, and giving them a casual wave.

"Just what I expected of my student!" Gai sniffed theatrically, tears shining in his eyes as he stared adoringly at Lee. "Your Youth shines as bright as the sun!"

"G-Gai-sensei!" Exclaimed Lee, who had by now grabbed both of Gai's hands in his own, eyes also glistening with tears. "What profound words! I am touched; but really, it is all thanks to your wonderful teachings. You made me realize the full potential of my Youth!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"What now?" Tenten asked the others, completely ignoring the display.

This time, it was Kakashi who spoke up. "You're given two hours to spar and train with your partner. Stick to taijutsu and weapons only. After that we'll take a break." He lowered his book slightly to point to his left. "Lee and Sasuke will train over there. Naruto and Neji, you'll be training in the clearing just south of them. The girls will train here, where Gai and I can see them."

"Eh? Why here?" Sakura complained.

Kakashi gave her a crinkled-eye smile. "Because you two are the ones most in need of improvement in your taijutsu. Even Naruto could best you if he tried really hard."

"Hey!" Naruto puffed indignantly. "That's not true! I can beat them with my eyes closed!"

Sakura glared daggers at him, cracking her knuckles menacingly. "Wanna bet?"

Naruto flinched. Sensing danger, he grabbed Neji's hand and dragged him away. "We're going!" he yelped as he disappeared into the trees. Sasuke and Lee followed soon after.

Kakashi watched as the other four gennin left, before turning to Sakura and Tenten. "Remember: this is training only. You don't aim to kill. The objective is to develop your hand-to-hand combat skills."

"What about the guys?" Sakura asked, still slightly pouting.

Gai gave her a thumbs-up. "Don't worry; I'll be monitoring their matches occasionally."

Tenten frowned doubtfully at him. "Gai-sensei, are you sure you can handle them?"

"Of course! What kind of trouble could they land themselves in?"

NxS NxS NxS

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

There was a pop and a puff of smoke; Neji watched as Naruto's clone emerged right beside the original, looking nonplussed, blinking bright blue eyes at them both. It turned to Naruto. "What's up?"

Naruto grinned at him in response, jerking a thumb towards Neji, who was standing nearby. "Just stand still while Neji takes a look at you."

The clone pouted. "What's there to look? He can just stare at you any damn time."

Neji spoke up. "I want to study Naruto's shadow clones using my Byakuugan." His pale, milk-white eyes watched the clone. "It won't take long."

The clone shrugged and put his hands together behind his nape. "Fine."

Neji nodded, his gaze traveling from the clone to Naruto, who was standing in the same pose. "Your clones copy your behavior, too?"

"Eh? Well, I guess so. I never really thought about it," Naruto confessed as he watched Neji look the clone up and down, his bloodline technique activated. "Why are you so interested in my clones anyway?"

"I've never come across clones like yours before," Neji answered truthfully. He walked around the clone slowly, as if studying a painting. "My eyes can tell a clone from the original—there are differences, you see, that the Byakuugan can easily detect." He looked at Naruto. "But your shadow clones don't have those differences."

"Mmm." Naruto followed Neji as he walked around his clone, who was staring boringly up at the sky while picking his nose. "What's so special about my clones?"

Neji stopped in front of Naruto's copy and placed a palm flat against its chest. "This. The chakra coil is supposed to be absent in clones, but yours have it, like a real person does." His hand left the clone's chest and traced an invisible line from the arm to the wrist. "Your clones have visible chakra pathways. If I hadn't been watching you, I would have a difficult time telling which one of you is the real Naruto or not." He smirked at Naruto. "Which means you only got lucky at the Chuunin exams."

Naruto smirked back. "We can have a rematch now, if you like," he challenged Neji.

"Are you finished yet? This is getting pretty boring," whined the clone.

Naruto wordlessly turned back to Neji, who nodded curtly. "I'm finished for now."

Naruto dismissed the clone with a pop, and waited for the smoke to clear before speaking up again. "Wanna spar now?" His eyes shimmered in anticipation.

"I want to ask a few things first."

Naruto frowned slightly. "Eh? What about?" He watched Neji look off in the distance, towards the trees. If Naruto remembered correctly, Sasuke and Lee were training in the clearing that way, which was pretty close by. Worry made Naruto's insides squirm uncomfortably. Each day that Sasuke was under the genjutsu's influence, the worse the effects were going to be. The image of the kiss Sasuke had stolen from him last night flashed in his mind, along with the look of pure helplessness and frustration that flared in Sasuke's dark, depthless eyes.

_Is there something worse than that?_

"Is something going on between you and Uchiha?"

The question made Naruto stiffen involuntarily. Had Neji found out about the genjutsu? With extreme effort he forced a smile on his face. "What do you mean, Neji?"

Neji approached Naruto, stopping only a few short paces away. His opal eyes never wavered as he watched him. "I noticed that he was pretty upset with you."

"Sasuke was…?" Naruto froze, but outwardly he tried to look confusing. It wasn't very hard; all he had to do was wonder what was going on inside Sasuke's head. Speaking of which, was the teme doing alright? He had seemed tense and angry that morning. Last night, too, when they were talking about this training. He would have assumed that it had something to do with him, but Naruto had a feeling it was something else. "Are you sure? Maybe he just got off the wrong side of the bed this morning."

It was too bad he had dismissed the clone already. It would have been easier to keep an eye on Sasuke if one of his shadow clones were around. Although a fairly good distance kept them apart, Naruto was sure Sasuke could still feel his presence because their chakra signatures were—what was that word again?—attenuated, because of the genjutsu. Sasuke was probably annoyed about that by now.

_Why does that thought bother me?_

Neji did not look convinced. "Maybe. I've heard he can be pretty cold sometimes but…" He looked at Naruto again. "Then again, maybe I'm reading too much into things." He threaded a hand through his long dark hair. "Taijustsu and weapons only, right?"

It took a second for Neji's last statement to sink in. When it did, the gleam in Naruto's eyes was back, and he grinned expectantly at the match, cracking his knuckles for effect, Sasuke momentarily forgotten. "Ready to be pounded into the ground again, Neji?"

Neji smirked. "I was under the impression that things would go the other way around." Without warning, he launched himself at the blonde gennin, his pale eyes frowned in concentration.

Not expecting the suddenness of the attack, Naruto caught the punch square on his jaw, the force of it enough to throw him back a few paces, landing on his back. Red and green spots burst from underneath his closed eyes, and he stood up in a daze, shaking the pain with a wince. He touched his lip tentatively with a hand. "Hey! You didn't have to hit that hard!"

Neji relaxed from his stance. "I thought this was training."

"Training, not actual combat!" Naruto yelled from the far side of the clearing, fuming. "Shit Neji, that _hurt_!"

The violence of Naruto's reaction to his punch made Neji smirk. "It's pretty hard to believe you're in pain when you can still make a ruckus like that."

"Ah, stop changing the topic, Neji! I'm gonna get you for that!" Naruto shook a fist at Neji even though he was smiling. Sparring with Neji was a refreshing change from constantly sparring with Sasuke or training with himself. It was rather enjoyable. "Here I come!" And he sped towards Neji, brandishing a kunai in his left hand, ready to strike.

"Too slow," Neji commented dryly as he sidestepped to avoid the oncoming slash, then lowered himself quickly to the ground, stretching out his right leg and sweeping it in a low arc. He expected to connect with the back of Naruto's legs only to hit empty air; Naruto had leapt up into a somersault, landing on his hands, twisting his lower body to deliver a spinning kick directed at Neji's face.

Neji caught Naruto's right ankle in his hand, pulling Naruto towards him, his other hand coming to meet Naruto's face in a closed fist.

With a growl Naruto put up his arms to shield his face just in time, but dropping the kunai in the process. "Shit!" He hissed, his hands finding purchase on Neji's sleeves and kicked himself off of Neji, launching him a safe distance away. He turned quickly, trying to find his weapon.

"Looking for this?" Neji twirled Naruto's kunai in one hand while watching Naruto with a light smile. He threw the kunai at Naruto, who yelped and jumped away.

"Oi! Don't you know that's dangerous?" Naruto yelped indignantly, pointing at the kunai that twanged resonantly as it was embedded deeply into the trunk of a nearby tree.

Neji ignored Naruto's tirade and tilted his head in a scrutinizing fashion. "Your reaction time has improved since we last fought."

This compliment dissolved Naruto's little irritation, and he beamed with pride at himself. "Heh, nothing constant practice can't do." He pointed at himself with one thumb. "If I'm going to become Hokage, I have to get stronger!"

"Hokage, huh? Still after that dream of yours?"

Naruto pouted at Neji. "You talk about it like it's stupid," he scowled.

"No, nothing like that." Neji shook his head. "I'm just surprised you're really set on becoming Hokage."

"Heh, of course I am! And I _will_ become Hokage—you'd better believe it!" Naruto exclaimed proudly. He planted his feet farther apart, lowering his upper body in the process. "Ready for round two?"

But Neji wasn't listening. He was staring at something to his right, towards the trees. Naruto frowned at him in confusion, until he heard footsteps and the snapping of twigs. A moment later he picked up a familiar chakra signature, and a head of unruly black hair appeared, followed by an ominously blank, pale face.

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Sasuke? What're you doing here?"

NxS NxS NxS

_I will focus on this fight._

Sasuke scowled at the foliage as he and Lee walked to the clearing Kakashi had pointed out as their sparring arena. Lee jogged briskly before him, exclaiming how excited he was that he and Sasuke would be testing each other's flames of Youth—or was that _blazing_ flames of Youth?—as they got nearer their destination. Sasuke ignored him.

Instead he was focusing on the slight tugging feeling at the back of his head that told him accurately where Naruto was. He was somewhere several hundred meters south; Sasuke assumed Naruto had already arrived at the other clearing with Neji.

Red-hot anger speared through his gut, making him growl under his breath. _No, stop thinking about that. Focus on this fight with Lee._

"Shall we start then?"

Sasuke stopped on instinct at the sound of Lee's voice, his eyes focusing. They were already standing halfway across the clearing. Lee was looking at him, his face already serious, fists resting at his sides. Sasuke's scowl grew; he mentally berated himself for spacing out, and for doing the very thing he had promised that morning to avoid at all costs: letting his thoughts stray to Naruto.

"Hn." Sasuke leapt back and landed into a fighting stance, at the same time that Lee had. They were already tensed and ready, the silence between them crackling with tension.

A soft breeze rustled the leaves in the trees around them, and they moved almost as one.

Even at the start Sasuke had no intention of holding back. His personal problems aside, Sasuke had been waiting for this match almost as much as Lee did, and for a very good reason. Their last match against each other had been during the Chuunin exams, which had been cut off abruptly by the arrival of Gai. Lee's taijutsu skills had been exceptional, and Sasuke knew that if they had not been interrupted that time he would have probably lost. Sasuke hated loosing, but he hated leaving a match unfinished just as much.

Had he improved at all since that time? Had he become more powerful?

_Naruto's not moving. What the hell could they be doing all this ti—_

With another low growl Sasuke forced his thoughts to a halt as he bent low to avoid Lee's kick, rolling away and jumping in one fluid motion. Anger and irritation boiled up inside of him, and it took all of Sasuke's willpower not to activate the Sharingan or Orochimaru's cursed seal. He could feel the latter burning a hole on his left shoulder, as if begging to be released. He took a kunai from his pouch and launched himself at Lee once more, focusing all his energy into winning.

Lee aimed an elbow under Sasuke's chin. Sasuke tilted his head back to avoid it and brought up his right knee, targeting Lee's ribcage. But Rock Lee proved to be as quick as ever when he twisted around suddenly and left Sasuke hitting nothing.

_I want to see Naruto._

And then Lee was behind him, his palm hitting the base of Sasuke's spine, sending him sprawling several feet. Dust trailed in his wake, choking him as he took in air. He cursed underneath his breath, his mind fighting to silence the voice inside his head that would not shut up. It was ruining his focus; he should have landed at least one hit by now. One hand touched his back, which was still throbbing with pain. Nothing was broken, but it would leave a bruise.

"Something is troubling you, Sasuke-san." Lee was standing near the middle of the clearing, his stance eased. His face was set in a slight frown. "Did something happen between you and Naruto?"

Hearing Naruto's name only fuelled Sasuke's anger. "Mind your own business," he hissed, picking up the kunai he had dropped, brandishing it in his right hand.

Lee ignored him. "As long as you don't settle whatever it is that's going on between the two of you, you cannot focus on our match." He folded his arms across his chest.

"Just shut up and fight me!" Sasuke launched himself at Lee with an angry cry, slashing blindly. His eyes had already bled red, tomoe swirling furiously.

Lee turned on the spot, missing the blade by an inch. His right leg rose quickly as he spun, his heel slamming onto Sasuke's back, sending him crashing to the ground again. "No, I won't fight you until you are focused enough," Lee answered calmly while frowning down at Sasuke.

The air left Sasuke's lungs in a whoosh as he felt the ground coming up to meet him. Pain made his ears ring, his face stinging from the impact. He coughed and hacked, his lungs burning for air. As he made to stand, Lee was suddenly above him, twisting his arms together and pinning his legs so that he could not move. Sasuke struggled with a growl. "Let go of me!"

To Sasuke's surprise, Lee did. One moment he was sitting on top of Sasuke, the next he was standing a good distance away, watching Sasuke with disapproving eyes. "I will not fight you while you are in this condition, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke stood up on slightly shaking knees, bracing himself with his hands, the kunai momentarily forgotten on the ground. He looked up with an angry glare. "Like shit you're not." He spat out the dirt that had gotten into his mouth. "Fight me!"

Lee shook his head. "No. Not until you settle things with Naruto first." His face was set in a determined frown.

Sasuke stiffened, his scowl turning even more deadly. "Leave Naruto out of this," he whispered in a dead tone.

"I should be the one telling you that, Sasuke." Lee narrowed his eyes slightly. "Your mind has been elsewhere ever since we started this match. I have seen how you acted this morning. You have been fighting with Naruto."

The anger that had been boiling in his stomach was now threatening to blaze up into uncontrollable rage. "Shut up! You don't even have the slightest idea what's going on between us!" Scarlet eyes flaring, his angry voice loud in the clearing.

"I don't," Lee admitted. "But you do."

Sasuke smiled bitterly at him. "What the fuck do you expect me to do?" _I keep fighting against this everyday, but each time his eyes flicker to mine all I want to do is fall on my knees and beg the ground to swallow me._ "It's not like that idiot knows what's happening anyway." _He knows what's going on, but not what's happening to ME._

Lee shrugged. "I would not be too sure on that. Naruto may be slow sometimes, but I believe he can be perceptive about other things." He looked straight at Sasuke. "He might even be more worried about it than you are right now. Haven't you ever asked him?"

Lee's words struck a chord within Sasuke; he stopped, considering. _I never really asked him about it; mostly I avoided him like the plague. It's much better like this, isn't it? _But now that Lee had said it aloud, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder. _What does Naruto feel about all of this? _Sasuke frowned. _No, that's not right. Who cares about what that dobe thinks? What's important is that we find out how to release this genjutsu before everything gets out of hand. Before it's too late._

Without thinking about it, his eyes stared at the trees. Exactly where Naruto would be. His chest throbbed in pain; was it already too late?

"_I want to know what's happening with you, teme."_

The thing was, he could never tell Naruto exactly what was happening. Sasuke did not think he could survive the humiliation, let alone face the possibility that Naruto would be disgusted with him for being so weak and pathetic. The proud and cold Uchiha Sasuke, brought to his knees by a simple illusion technique.

_Naruto isn't like that though. _The voice inside his head echoed softly, but each word rang clear. _He would never laugh at you, or push you away. He never had, did he?_

What Sasuke feared the most though, was the fact that he _knew_, without one shred of doubt, that he would never survive if Naruto did react in that manner. It meant that Sasuke cared what Naruto thought and felt. _Do I?_

He did not know the truth any longer. He did not know which thought belonged to him, and which emotion was brought about only by the genjutsu. Everything had become so tangled inside, Sasuke did not know where he began and the genjutsu ended. All the spent emotions, all the time he fought to keep himself in check, all the time he tried to look away when all he wanted was to keep looking…it was wearing him thin.

It felt as if he was a boat caught in the middle of a storm, the waves swallowing him up with every swell, the cold seeping into his bones. And each time he broke through the water to gasp for air, another wave would come, pulling him deeper and deeper.

Sasuke closed his eyes. He was running out of air again, but this time he did not think he could find the surface. _Naruto…_

Lee watched Sasuke walk away until he disappeared into the trees.

NxS NxS NxS

Naruto's body tensed as he watched Sasuke break through the tree line at a steady walk, his face betraying nothing. Something was not right; Naruto could sense it. "What are you doing here?" he asked again, more calmly than he felt.

Neji stirred from where he was standing. Naruto saw Sasuke's eyes swivel sharply in the Hyuuga's direction, his entire body freezing almost immediately. Neji stiffened in response, frowning at Sasuke. He was smart enough not to do anything more than turn his head slightly so he could see Sasuke better. "Something wrong, Uchiha?" he asked in a cool tone.

Sasuke's dark eyes hardened perceptibly. "I need to talk to Naruto." He turned slightly to look at the blond. "Alone."

Neji nodded curtly, glancing at Naruto. "I'll be with Lee." He turned and left without another word.

"Hn."

Naruto opened his mouth to say something to Neji, but he was already gone. He huffed and scowled at Sasuke. "What the hell do you want?" he grated. Mentally, he was trying to measure the distance between him and Sasuke.

Some of the tension eased from Sasuke's shoulders when Neji disappeared. His face had taken on a contemplative look, tilting slightly to one side. He took slow steps forward. "How are you feeling?"

Naruto's scowl melted into a look of confusion. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He took a step back when Sasuke did not stop walking forward, towards him.

Something flashed in Sasuke's eyes, and he smirked. Naruto stiffened, irritation flaring. _He's fucking laughing at me! And just because I'm trying to keep it safe for the both of us!_ A growl erupted from his throat, his face slowly turning into a scowl.

It earned him a light chuckle from Sasuke. "Afraid, dobe?"

"You wish," Naruto snapped before he could think. He gritted his teeth. Sasuke took another step forward, his smirk deepening. He was about ten paces away now; considerably closer than he had been last night.

Naruto stood his ground, glaring blue ice. "What are you doing here, Sasuke? Don't you have to train with Lee?" He smirked suddenly. "Don't tell me he kicked your ass that quickly?"

"He was the one who told me to come here."

The smirk vanished. "What? Why?"

Sasuke took another step forward. _Nine paces away._ "He said I should straighten things out with you before I fight him again."

"Why the hell would he say that?"

"Does it really matter?" Sasuke asked back. His onyx eyes stared unblinking at him, even as he took another step. "What he said got me thinking…"

"Teme, you shouldn't be here."

"…and I realized I needed to see you." Sasuke frowned, his brow furrowing slightly, but his eyes did not harden. Instead they seemed quite puzzled. He stared at Naruto. "I wanted to see you."

The anger drained from Naruto's face, which was quickly being replaced with slight alarm. "You don't need me for anything," Naruto's voice was strained. He gave Sasuke a worried look. "You shouldn't be here," he repeated, much more firmly this time.

_Six paces._

Sasuke did not reply, only continued staring at him. Alarm bells started ringing inside Naruto's head, and he tried to come up with something to distract Sasuke with. "We're supposed to be training, teme," he began, trying to look pissed and failing miserably, ending up with a sort of pained grimace instead. "Lee's waiting for you. And Neji and I still have to finish our match!"

This seemed the right thing to say. Sasuke froze like stone all of a sudden. His face had taken on a cold mask. "Neji, huh?"

Naruto nodded quickly, a smile of relief starting to spread on his face. "Yeah. We were just getting more serious when you showed up. Oh yeah, did you know that Neji's Byakuugan has a hard time figuring out my Kage Bunshin? He told me—"

"Will you shut up about Hyuuga already?"

Naruto's mouth snapped reflexively, surprised at Sasuke's angry tone. It only irritated Naruto further, his scowl returning ten-fold. "What's eating you? Each time I get talking about Neji you start acting like a stick's been shoved up your ass."

The mask slipped, and Sasuke's mouth twisted unpleasantly. "I didn't come here to talk about that stuck-up dick." His eyes hardened for a moment, but then he shook his head and it was gone. He began walking towards Naruto again. "I couldn't concentrate on our fight because I kept getting distracted." He looked meaningfully at Naruto again.

It took a lot for Naruto to stay put and not flee. He watched Sasuke carefully as he approached. Emotions waned and flared in Sasuke's eyes although his face remained frowning. He had never seen Sasuke look so lost. It made breathing harder.

"Sasuke…" Naruto cleared his throat. "Sasuke, get a grip on yourself. This is not you."

"Funny, I don't think I can tell you if this—" he gestured with a hand," is really me, either." He stopped walking when he was directly in front of Naruto, and took a deep, shuddering breath. "I have to get this off of me, Naruto," he whispered, desperation bleeding into his voice.

"I know," Naruto answered just as softly, his eyes drawn to the ground. It was hard to look at Sasuke for very long. "We're going to look up those scrolls in the library later, right?"

"And if we don't find anything?"

Naruto's eyes shot up, anger flaring in them. He did not want to hear any shit about giving up. Damn it, they hadn't even begun looking yet! He would have opened his mouth to say so, in a loud voice that would make Sasuke's ears ring, but stopped when he saw Sasuke.

He was smiling a small, sad smile. His onyx eyes were dull and clouded, making his face look paler than usual. It unnerved Naruto so much that the words died in his throat. He had to shake his head to clear his thoughts. "Listen, Sasuke. We're going to find a way to remove the genjutsu on you. I promised you I'd help, didn't I?" He raised his left hand and gave Sasuke's shoulder a pat, forcing a smile on his face.

Sasuke's own hand came up and grabbed at Naruto's. His hands were rough and calloused from years of training. Naruto knew his own was no better; maybe it was even worse, considering how much he pushed himself. He tugged on his hand lightly, but Sasuke did not let go. "Hey, teme…"

Sasuke did not appear to hear. His thumb was running small, slow circles against Naruto's palm. He looked up, an unreadable expression on his face.

Something in the way he looked at Naruto gave him pause. Time seemed to slow to a trickle as Naruto watched, mesmerized, at the way Sasuke's eyes slowly pulled down, watching his own hand touch Naruto's, as if memorizing every detail of it. "Your hand is warm." Sasuke's voice had become soft, almost a whisper.

Naruto answered without thinking. "So is yours."

The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back with Sasuke on top of him, their breaths coming out in a rush as Sasuke's lips covered his own.

Sasuke's hands came up to hold Naruto's face in place while his tongue darted out to lick Naruto's lower lip. A groan came from Sasuke's mouth. Naruto could feel him shiver above him. When he tried to push Sasuke away, his hands grabbed Naruto's wrists and pinned them over their heads.

Sasuke's mouth was tracing a line of fire down Naruto's jaw. Naruto turned his face away. "S-Sasuke—"

Sasuke was having none of it. He licked and sucked at Naruto's neck, kissing every inch of bare skin he could reach. With his head buried against Naruto's neck, Sasuke thrust his hips roughly against Naruto and moaned.

Naruto bit back the cry that threatened to escape his lips. He was panting with the effort of struggling as well as fighting the sensations that Sasuke's movements were doing to him. "Sa—ah—Sasuke, stop this—"

Sasuke moaned louder as he thrust again. "N-Naruto…"

Naruto's cheeks flushed bright red when he felt something stiff rub against his own growing erection. He shivered despite himself when Sasuke continued to rub hard against him, his pace quickening with every thrust. It was getting harder and harder to speak coherently. "Teme, g-get off—nnh—get off me!"

Sasuke's response was to capture Naruto's mouth in a kiss, taking the opportunity to delve deeper into Naruto's mouth, his tongue hungrily exploring every inch. Naruto turned his face away again, only to gasp as pleasure shot through his limbs with every push of Sasuke's hips against his own, the friction driving all thought out the window.

Sasuke was already breathing hard, his face contorted in a mixture of concentration and pleasure as he murmured Naruto's name over and over again. His thrusts were becoming more erratic, picking up speed. Naruto knew he wouldn't last much longer.

Sasuke gave a sharp cry and collapsed on top of Naruto, his breath coming in shallow, hot gusts against Naruto's neck. Naruto stopped moving, feeling his own heart beat loudly in time with Sasuke's, waiting.

It was several minutes before Sasuke stirred, pushing himself off of Naruto with one quick movement. When Naruto stood up, Sasuke had turned his back to him.

He should be angry, that much was obvious. But for the life of him Naruto just didn't have the strength to punch Sasuke in the face, or even scream at him. He bit his lip, frowning, unsure. "Sasuke…"

"It's my fault." Sasuke's voice was hard. Cold. "I shouldn't have come—there's no excuse for—" He stopped, his shoulders stiffening visibly. "I should leave." He took a step forward, away from Naruto.

"I'll come by your house around midnight." Naruto wanted to say a lot more. _It's not your fault. I'm not angry at you. Yeah, it was damn stupid of you to come here, you bastard! What do you take me for, a jerk? Of course I won't leave you like this even if you do something stupid. I'm your friend, teme._ But Naruto knew that what he said would be enough for Sasuke.

The Uchiha stopped in his tracks. "Thank you, Naruto." He left without turning back.

Naruto waited until Sasuke was gone before collapsing back onto the ground, his blue eyes staring at the great expanse of cerulean sky above. His body was still warm, and his lips were slightly swollen, still tingling from the memory. He gritted his teeth and frowned angrily at the clouds passing by.

He should have stopped him. He knew he could. He knew it was the right thing.

But—damn it all to Hell!—why in the world did he feel glad that he didn't?

NxS NxS NxS

_End of Chapter 07._

_More notes from the Author: This has been another challenging chapter to make, especially since I had to study Team Gai's characters beforehand. And I had to make two fight sequences! I hope I didn't screw anything up. If you find something that needs correcting though, please tell me ASAP so it can be fixed. :)_

_Sorry if you've begun thinking this story is on hiatus or worse, abandoned. Things have just been pretty hectic, but this story will be continued until it is finished. That's 'true as toasted toads' (haha, I took a leaf out of T. Goodkind's book—literally)._


	8. Chapter 8

**Blinding Light**

_Sequel to "Wrapped in More than Kindness"_

_Warnings and Disclaimers: All Naruto names, places, and related indicia are copyright to Masashi Kishimoto. Only the plot, OCs, and writing style are mine. This story has been rated M for mature themes, languages, and graphic sexual scenes (for later chapters). It is also a shounen ai fic, meaning there is a boy x boy pairing inside (Naruto and Sasuke). If you are uncomfortable reading stories of this kind, please push the back button to spare your sanity._

_If I owned Naruto, it would have smut scenes between Naruto and Sasuke every chance they get, and Madara would choke on a pocky. And Sasuke will loose most of his angsty –ness. Since none of these seem to be happening at all…meh._

_Author's Notes: We owe this chapter to my so-called "miracle study-free week", the blissful five days of no review classes right after my mock licensure exams. If you haven't been visiting my profile or read my other stories, you might not know that I have announced a hiatus starting the end of January to the end of May, in preparation for the (hopefully) last exam I'll ever take before taking on a professional job. So yes, this update is unexpected. Aren't you happy my conscience has been successful in making me feel awful until I got this done?_

_Pardon the angst content. It is necessary for plot development. Not to worry though, it won't go over the top. Also some fluff present, along with a bit of humor (or at least, my attempt at humor)._

_Please (I beg you!) do not forget to review after reviewing. All questions are welcome, too!_

NxS NxS NxS

**Chapter 8**

The kettle blew out a shrill, whistling noise as it boiled over the stove, but Naruto did not hear it. The cup of instant ramen was held lightly in his hands, the small packets of flavoring already open, but he did not see them. His mind was entirely on what had happened earlier that day during joint training with Team Gai.

More specifically, on what happened between him and Sasuke.

_I can't believe it. I was actually molested by Sasuke-teme._ Naruto blinked, looking down at the ramen cup in his hands with unseeing eyes. A strange, keening sound escaped his lips. Naruto shut his mouth when he realized he was actually on the verge of screaming.

_I was_—the cup of ramen started to shake in his hand—_molested—_Naruto let go of the cup and fisted his hand on the table—_by Sasuke!_

Naruto was overcome by a strong urge to bolt out of his apartment, through the village gates, and as far away from Konoha as was possible on an empty stomach. It was only then he realized that the shock of what had happened had worn off completely, and the truth slammed hard into his gut like one of Rock Lee's punches.

Now that there was no training to concentrate on, no sparring match to derail his attention somewhere else, Naruto's mind fixed itself into replaying the events of the day, trying to find out what went wrong, trying to understand why he had done nothing to stop it.

He remembered being surprised. Naruto's eyes narrowed on the table. Yes, he was surprised to find Sasuke in the clearing, asking to talk to him. What was more surprising was Neji's quick agreement to leave, without question. Maybe that should have alerted him that something wrong was going to happen.

When Sasuke began advancing on him, Naruto recalled becoming tense. Both of them knew it was dangerous for Sasuke to be near Naruto; the genjutsu's effects seemed to increase a hundred-fold with proximity. He remembered telling Sasuke that.

But the look on Sasuke's face told Naruto that the warning was useless. The genjutsu had full control, and Sasuke was powerless to stop whatever happened next.

Naruto let out a long, depressed sigh, standing up from his seat on the table and turning off the stove. The shrill whistling muted to a stop. He leaned heavily against the counter, like an old man who was too tired to stand.

Now that he knew it was the genjutsu's fault, Naruto could not find it in himself to hate Sasuke, or even be angry with him. Did he have a right to be angry? Very much. But at Sasuke?

Naruto paused. No, not at Sasuke. The blame could be put at the strange illusion's proverbial feet and…Naruto winced. Yeah, some of the blame could be pointed at him, too. The mental admittance twisted Naruto's gut painfully, his face curling into a grimace as he carried the kettle to the table, pouring hot water into the cup of instant ramen. He settled down on his chair with another heavy sigh, resting his chin against a propped palm.

Almost immediately his eyes glazed over, and images of the incident began replaying through his mind again. Hot. He remembered feeling hot, the sweat running down his back. Sparring with Neji was a challenge, one that Naruto felt he enjoyed very much. He remembered telling himself to ask Neji to train again sometime.

He shifted in his seat, and remembered Sasuke's voice, sharp and angry when Naruto had mentioned Neji. Even now, he cannot understand what about Neji made Sasuke so angry. Neji had never been rude to Sasuke, and Sasuke had never really talked to Neji. It was all very strange to him.

Naruto blinked, exhaling a breath. He remembered the ground was hard, dusty. Small bits of stone kept digging into his lower back where his jacket had run up, exposing skin protected only by a thin, black shirt. It was uncomfortable, and made more so by Sasuke's weight on top of him. He had struggled, asking Sasuke to stop, but he was too far gone, controlled by the genjutsu, to actually listen.

Naruto shuddered. He remembered Sasuke's panting breath fanning across his face, his slightly chapped lips crushing his own. He remembered Sasuke's taste, and the soft moans that escaped Sasuke's lips while he moved above Naruto. He remem—

_Alright. That's enough._ Naruto huffed a breath and rubbed at his face with his hands. He should be focused on trying to help Sasuke right now, not remembering how he got molested! Disgusted at how his mind was perversely set on running through the incident one more time, Naruto scowled, grabbing his chopsticks on the table and stabbing them viciously into the ramen cup, stirring the contents.

Looking at the bright side though, no one had suspected anything was amiss. At least, no one spoke about it. Naruto was pretty sure Kakashi-sensei knew there was something wrong, and he wouldn't put it past Neji's sharp observation skills, either. Sakura seemed blissfully unaware, while Gai-sensei and Lee were too hyped about the training itself to notice anything else. Tenten wasn't even anywhere near them that day, so Naruto really didn't bother worrying about her.

_So…Kakashi-sensei and Neji. Neji I can handle I think, but Kakashi-sensei is something else. _Naruto snorted into his noodles. _What's more he's a pervert, just like Ero-sennin. Urgh. At least he's not doing anything yet. I've got to talk to Sasuke about this; if word gets out about the stinking genjutsu he'll skin me alive._ He blanched. _If Sakura finds out about this, she's going to castrate me!_

Naruto sighed again, slurping the hot broth, warming his insides that had gone cold from thinking about Sasuke and the mess they were both in. One thing was for sure, though, Naruto thought decisively as he put down the ramen cup, he'd make goddamn sure the genjutsu was dispelled.

NxS NxS NxS

Sasuke believed Naruto would never show up later that night.

He sat scowling at a small garden in one of the main house's courtyard, leaning against a wooden post, utterly convinced that the dobe would never step inside the Uchiha compounds—or come within ten feet of him—ever again. Sasuke knew that if it happened to him, he would not even continue living in the same village. Heck, he would kill the person who dared touch him, _then_ leave the village!

For a moment his façade of implacable stoicism crumbled. Anger twisted his face, his lips curling in a silent snarl, then morphing into a pained expression, his brow furrowing deeply. Guilt bubbled from his stomach like hot acid, burning him from inside. He should have been stronger. He should have been able to control the urges the genjutsu brought forth—he was an Uchiha, for crying out loud! The self-disgust and anger rose to the fore, swallowing the guilt, searing him. His fists were clenched so tightly he could feel his nails digging deep into his palms; any more and he would be bleeding.

But along with the guilt came his pride, staunchly refusing to be brought down. His brows furrowed into a scowl as that part of him roared with indignation, demanding that he face this dilemma with every intent to come out victorious no matter the cost. There was no room for more failure, for more moments of weakness. Even as he said this, an image of Naruto's face from this afternoon flashed in his mind, and the now-familiar deluge of volatile desire slammed against him so hard it took his breath away.

No…not this again! Sasuke closed his eyes and stiffened, vainly trying to regain composure and—most importantly—_control._ He could already feel his chakra senses expanding, searching for Naruto. With a mental wrench he pulled it back with a silent snarl, the effort enough to turn his breaths into soft pants. After several minutes he slumped against the wooden post, the desire slowly ebbing but not fading away. It was still there, like a monster content to lie in wait.

Ah, but he was so tired. Here, in the safety and security of his solitude, Sasuke could at least admit that. He raised one open palm up to his face, slowly flexing his fingers that shook slightly. The genjutsu was taking up more effort than his training in preparation for taking Itachi's life. More and more he would find himself wondering; was it really so bad to just let it take control? To let the need to touch Naruto turn into an unbearable ache that would turn into indescribable bliss the moment his fingers touched Naruto's skin?

Flashes of that day's incident rushed through his mind. The moment he kissed Naruto, it was as if his world had turned right again. Everything that had crumbled was made whole, the despair and hopelessness melting away. Naruto tasted like summer. He tasted like freedom. Sasuke moaned, remembering the feel of him.

The need for touch had been sated, but a deeper, heavier desire replaced it in the blink of an eye. It ran through Sasuke's blood like charged lightning, erasing all rational thought. It was all he could do not to pass out from its intensity.

And the next thing he knew, Naruto was underneath him, face as flushed as his, his eyes riddled with surprise, sadness, and hurt. The sight of it jolted Sasuke to his senses. With horrified realization he pushed himself away, unable to believe it. Everything collapsed back into nothingness. Whatever warmth he felt was drained away.

Sasuke curled in on himself, wrapping his arms around his knees, his head tucked in between. A soothing breeze made a wind charm overhead tinkle, but Sasuke was too numbed with pain to feel it.

NxS NxS NxS

Something told Naruto he shouldn't be yelling Sasuke's name, even though there was no one else in this ridiculously large house except the bastard himself.

He had knocked five times on the front door before deciding to let himself in, thinking that maybe Sasuke could not hear him. Maybe he was in the bathroom, or he was somewhere outside, training. Or maybe he had not returned yet, although the reason why was completely beyond him.

All these conjectures were shot out the window one by one as Naruto peeked inside doors and poked his nose around corners, searching for Sasuke. There was no sign of the teme in any of the two bathrooms, the kitchen, the guest rooms, the living room, and the library on the first floor. Naruto eyed the staircase leading to the upper floors, but decided not to even go near there. Sasuke was tetchy at best when it came to his possessions. If he ever heard that Naruto had gone upstairs, the least the blond would worry about was a Chidori up his ass.

Shrugging the disturbing picture aside, Naruto came upon a roofed walkway that seemed to go around the main house, stretching in the direction of one of the other buildings lying close. "Oh what the hell," he muttered to himself, "maybe he's over there."

Naruto walked slowly, careful not to step on a creaking floorboard…or worse, a trap. A silly idea to be sure, but this was Sasuke's house! Who knew what sort of nasty surprises that tight-assed bastard had set up? Naruto knew for a fact that Sasuke was just as (if not more than) paranoid as Kakashi-sensei. The thought sorely tempted him to create a shadow clone and let it go first, just to be sure, but decided against it. Sasuke wouldn't really activate traps when he knew that Naruto was coming…right?

Although he was focused on traversing the seemingly safe walkway, Naruto could not help admiring the landscaped gardens to his left and right. Most of the shrubs looked like they needed pruning, true, and the grass was patchy, but most of the gardens were still lovely to look at. There were even flower beds somewhere to Naruto's right. Now he knew where Sasuke got the flowers for his little alcove.

He turned a corner, and found himself in a little courtyard surrounded by the walkway. Buildings rose on three sides in a u-shape. The courtyard itself was actually a small garden that consisted of a tiny man-made pond, a few flowers and shrubs, and a bed of white river pebbles. Naruto could not help the small smile that stretched his lips. It was beautiful, quaint scenery. No wonder Sasuke didn't want to leave this place.

Speaking of Sasuke…

A bundle of blues and grays lay directly ahead of Naruto, near the edge of the walkway overlooking the courtyard. But what attracted his attention was the mop of black hair that stuck out at one end of it.

Naruto rolled his eyes as he approached it. "Hey teme, what's the big idea making me look everywhere for…eh?" He blinked several times, making sure he was not imagining things. He even pinched himself for good measure.

Nope, not an illusion. Sasuke was indeed there, curled up on the floor and sleeping. He was lying on his side in a loose fetal position. Naruto sat on his heels and leaned closer to look.

Sasuke was still wearing the clothes he had worn to training. Naruto's noise scrunched in distaste when he smelled the dried sweat and earth coming off of him. He frowned when he saw Sasuke's slightly curled hands. There were red crescent-moon marks in both his palms, a few of them already encrusted with dried blood. Had Sasuke been training himself to exhaustion?

What caught Naruto's attention the most though, was the lack of tension in Sasuke's face and body. He was not frowning—at all. Naruto blinked several times at that. Come to think of it, he had never seen Sasuke without his trademark scowl before. It was like seeing Kakashi-sensei without his mask. Unnerving.

A sudden, mischievous thought sparked inside Naruto's head, making him grin almost fox-like. But tempting as it was…Naruto sighed and shook his head. There was plenty of time enough to prank Sasuke later. Right now there was a genjutsu they had to study, and a promise he had to keep. Too bad he didn't have a camera with him—he'd make a fortune auctioning those pictures to Sasuke's rabid horde of fans. He stretched out a hand and poked Sasuke in the ribs, none too gently. "Hey, teme. Wake up."

Later on, Naruto would reflect on his actions and tell himself never, under any circumstances, to do what he did ever again.

Naruto suddenly found the world spinning nastily before him, turning into a blot of colors. There was a loud thud as his head made contact with the wooden floor. He opened his eyes to find a kunai an inch from his nose, Sasuke on top of him breathing heavily.

Shock was quickly replaced with indignant anger. "What the hell do you think you're doing, teme?!"

Naruto's angry yell seemed to turn a switch. Sasuke's scowl faltered slightly as his eyes focused on him, the sleepiness fading. "Naruto?"

"No shit," Naruto groused, glaring at him. "Who did you think? I was the tooth fairy? Now get that kunai off my face before you give me a third nostril. And get off me!"

Sasuke seemed to have trouble understanding. He looked oddly at the kunai in his hand. He stared at Naruto's face. Finally his face settled into a scowl. "What are you doing here?"

Naruto's angry glare grew slack for a moment, before returning full force. A tick appeared near his temple. "Are you still sleeping? Didn't we agree to meet up here at midnight to study about that genjutsu?" Naruto tried to wriggle free, only to find that Sasuke was pinning him down quite effectively, one arm locking his chest in place. He growled in angry irritation.

Sasuke did not seem to notice this, however, as he continued to scowl _and_ look confused at the same time. "I thought you weren't coming."

Naruto stopped wriggling to stare at Sasuke in disbelief. "What?! Didn't you hear what I said during training?"

Sasuke's brow furrowed. "I did."

"Then why the hell are you wondering why I'm here?" Naruto snapped, his blue eyes glaring. He struggled again. "Damn it teme! Let me go!" He was careful not to move his head too much though. Sasuke's kunai was still aimed at his poor nose.

"But why?"

Naruto could feel his frayed patience reaching its limit. "What do you mean, why? Are you a fucking moron?" His dagger-like glare never wavered. "I'm your friend, teme. Obviously I'd come." He snorted and rolled his eyes.

Sasuke's grip on the kunai slackened, and Naruto was grateful to finally have the thing away from him. Sasuke though, still had not budged. "But this afternoon. I did—"

"That wasn't your fault," Naruto interrupted him gruffly, looking away with a frown. He was never really any good with things like this, because he never had a need to be good at it, before. "You weren't in control."

Because he was looking away, Naruto missed the expression that flashed briefly across Sasuke's face. "You are not angry." His words were soft, but Naruto did not miss the question in it.

He snorted again. "Keh. Why would I be?" He turned his eyes back to Sasuke with an angry glare. "Now get off me, teme!"

The superior smirk was back on Sasuke's face. "Hn. You should know by now not to prod a shinobi awake, dobe." In one swift movement he was on his feet, dusting himself off.

Naruto looked mutinous, but inside he was grinning. Sasuke was back to his arrogant, bastardly self. Finally. He put on a thoroughly pissed expression as he hauled himself back on his feet, brandishing a fist at Sasuke. "Fuck you, bastard! You should be thankful I was kind enough to wake you and not let you freeze to death out here."

"Like I'd get sick that easily."

"Tch. Teme."

"Usuratonkatchi."

Sasuke led the way back to the main house, exchanging insults with Naruto all the way. His smirk grew wider and wider as Naruto's face grew angrier, until finally he had had enough as they arrived in the living room.

"Alright, that's it!" Naruto pointed a finger at Sasuke. "We'll settle this with a spar! Outside, you arrogant bastard!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, his smirk unwavering. "It's midnight, you moron. Any ruckus you create will attract unwanted attention, plus it would waste time we could spend studying about that genjutsu." When Naruto had snapped his mouth shut with a growl he continued. "And don't forget we shouldn't be too close to each other." He looked pointedly at the small distance between them.

As if realizing it just then Naruto jumped, quickly walking over to the other side of the living room, where he proceeded to glare, crossing his arms. "Tch. If only you haven't been acting like a bastard I'd have remembered that," he muttered.

"Not my problem that you have poor memory, moron." Sasuke turned to one of the corridors. "I think it's better if we start looking at the scrolls in my family's archives first. Wait for me a bit."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to change," Sasuke replied, walking off to where Naruto knew was the staircase leading to the second floor. Before he could take two steps though he stopped, turning to Naruto with an unreadable expression. "Did you go upstairs?"

Naruto shook his head, glad to have listened to his own advice. "No."

Sasuke nodded almost to himself, before leaving the living room.

NxS NxS NxS

Naruto thought that the room he had peeked into earlier had been the archives, but Sasuke later explained that it was only a sort of office and study room, where commonly-used jutsu scrolls were kept, along with inconsequential documents like bills. Naruto was shocked to learn that the Uchiha scroll archive was, in fact, an entirely different building altogether.

Sasuke led the way to said building using the same roofed wooden walkway that branched out of the main house, Naruto walking roughly fifteen paces away, strangely silent. Nobody was keen about pointing out the increased "safety distance" between them, or the fact that it meant the genjutsu was getting stronger by the day.

But Naruto, being who he was, could not maintain the silence for long, especially since it was heavy with tension. It was enough to drive him mad if this kept up! "Neh, neh Sasuke!" he called out to the Uchiha ahead of him, "What are these other buildings for?"

Sasuke turned slightly to see where Naruto was pointing to. "That is the dojo. The other is where secondary members of the main family used to stay." He turned to the other side. "Those are warehouses, the armory, and special training grounds."

"Special training grounds?"

"Sharingan training," Sasuke replied.

"Cool," Naruto breathed, taking it all in with child-like interest. He grinned. "So all of this belongs to you now, eh?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Obviously, dobe."

Naruto glared at Sasuke's back, pulling his tongue at him. "Jerk," he mouthed silently, then sniggered.

Sasuke smirked, even though Naruto could not see. "Usuratonkatchi."

"N-Nani?!"

Sasuke turned his head and arched an eyebrow. "Don't think I didn't see what you did, dobe."

Naruto fumed all the way to the archives, Sasuke only smirking superiorly at him. Only when he stopped in front of a door did Naruto calm down, his eyes taking in the entire building.

It was relatively smaller than the other buildings, but what it lacked in width it made up in height. The Uchiha Archives had five floors, the walls whitewashed plaster, topped with black-shingled roof tiles. The Uchiha crest was engraved and painted onto the door in a black backdrop. The door itself was made of polished wood that gleamed in the semi-darkness, illuminated only by moonlight.

Naruto peered at the door, taking note of the symbol. "Your family's a bit obsessed about your symbol, you know that? You even have them on your clothes!"

"You're one to talk," Sasuke replied coolly. "Especially since I haven't laid eyes on a fashion disaster as worse as you."

"Hey! Orange happens to be a very cheerful color!" Naruto defended his ensemble with an angry sniff.

"You mean it's annoying."

Naruto growled against his throat, muttering about 'tight-assed bastards', as Sasuke fished out a key from his pocket, inserting it into the knob. There was a sharp click, and the door swung inwardly.

Naruto was not impressed. "Eh? That's it?"

Sasuke gave him a flat look. "You were expecting fireworks, usuratonkatchi?"

"But this is like, where you keep your important scrolls, right?" Naruto ignored the jibe in favor of sating his curiosity. "Shouldn't the security be a lot tighter? Anyone could get in with a lockpick."

Sasuke sighed. "Are you a shinobi, Naruto?"

Naruto looked insulted. "Of course I am!"

"Then you know that not everything is as it seems. The Archives is where we store jutsu scrolls, but the more dangerous and highly classified of them are not in here." He thrust a thumb to the door. "It's like the Hokage Tower. They have an Archive office there, too, but you won't find the Forbidden Scroll in there, will you?"

"Well, no," Naruto replied, looking thoughtful. "It was inside one of the stockrooms in the old man's house last time…"

Sasuke stared at him. "How did you know that?"

Naruto seemed to realize what he had just said, because he looked flustered. "N-nothing! It was—er—the old man let me see it one time! Yeah, that's it!" He laughed, weakly.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Come to think of it, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was one of the techniques written on the Forbidden Scroll, which contained highly powerful and/or advanced techniques unique to Konoha nins. "Naruto, did you read the Forbidden Scroll?"

"What? Don't be stupid! Nobody's allowed to read that friggin' scroll without the Hokage's permission," Naruto replied with a scoff. "Come on, teme. Do you think the old man would have let me even take a peek at it?"

Sasuke seemed to think for a moment, before shrugging. "You're right." He turned to walk inside. "So how did you get the scroll?"

"Ah, that was easy," Naruto sniggered, scratching the back of his head. "The old man was a pervert—all I had to do was use my Oro…AAAH!" He pointed a finger at Sasuke. "You tricked me!" he accused.

"Dobe." Sasuke inwardly rolled his eyes. "So the attempt at stealing the Scroll that time…it was you?"

Naruto crossed his arms and harrumphed, not talking as he marched inside the Archives after Sasuke, maintaining the distance between them.

Sasuke could feel annoyance stirring, his scowl returning. "You can't deny it now, moron. You just admitted that it was you who stole the scroll."

"I didn't steal it!" Naruto snarled vehemently. "That asshole Mizuki tricked me!"

"Mizuki? One of our teachers at the Academy?"

"How many Mizuki assholes do you know?"

Sasuke stared at him for a moment. "So what happened?"

Naruto glared at him. "I don't want to talk about it." He challenged Sasuke with a stare, but the Uchiha merely shrugged.

"Fine. It's not like the story's going to be interesting anyway. You're still here, that means the Hokage didn't believe you stole the scroll." He began to walk past a narrow corridor that opened into the first floor of the Archives, which was a wide, low-ceiling area where rows upon rows of scrolls were neatly stacked and labeled.

In the center of the room was a wide space where a long table and several wooden chairs were set up. Sasuke stopped at the far end while Naruto remained standing near the other end of the table. "We start with this floor, then steadily go up. I'll take care of this half of the room, while you work on the other side," Sasuke explained. He flicked the light switch mounted on a nearby wall, illuminating the room. "I don't know whether we have a record of the genjutsu scroll or not; it would have been easier if we know what it's called, but the copy at the Hokage Tower was so old the title's faded completely. The best thing to do is to look up all the genjutsu scrolls you come across."

To Sasuke's surprise, Naruto took all of this in with a nod. "Right. I'll just holler if I find anything. Oh yeah!" He brought a fist to one palm, a grin spreading on his face. Making a familiar symbol with his hands, he yelled, "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

There was a sharp pop, an explosion of smoke, and five Naruto clones appeared beside the original. Naruto turned to them with a triumphant grin. "You guys know what to look for, right? Let's get to work!"

All five clones grinned back at him and gave identical thumbs-up signs before spreading among five rows of shelves, all on Naruto's side. Naruto himself looked at Sasuke and grinned. "Let's get cracking, teme."

"Aren't you going to create more clones? It would make our job faster."

"Nah, it'll cause us trouble," Naruto replied with a laugh. "If I make more than five, they're gonna make a big racket and end up trashing the place. Studying was never one of my good points."

Sasuke only smirked and walked over to his side of the room, not bothering to reply.

NxS NxS NxS

"Teme."

Sasuke looked up from the scroll he was reading. Naruto was standing not ifve paces away from him with arms crossed. Sasuke stepped back, alarmed. "Baka! Didn't we make it clear you shouldn't…" he stopped, frowning. Something was odd. The genjutsu was not stirring at all; there was no sudden rush of desire, no undercurrent of want. And his attenuation skill was telling him Naruto was still on the other end of the room… "You're a clone, aren't you?"

The Naruto clone grinned. "Yep. How'd you know?"

Sasuke only stared flatly at him. "The genjutsu's not reacting at all."

"Eh, really?" The clone scratched at the whisker-marks on his cheek, exactly the way Naruto did whenever he did some thinking, which was a rare case, in Sasuke's opinion. "Well, then I guess that mean's the boss guessed it right."

Sasuke was curious despite himself. "What do you mean?"

The clone turned a fox-like grin at him. "Ano sa…we were looking through all this boring stuff down the room when he began to think of sending you a few of us. You know, to help you out."

"How generous," Sasuke remarked dryly. "And?"

The clone frowned. "Keh. You really are a bastard, aren't ya?"

Sasuke scowled.

"Like I said, a bastard," the clone shrugged casually, ignoring the glare. Which, of course, only served to infuriate Sasuke further, whose hand began to itch towards his kunai holster. The clone continued. "Anyway, the boss wanted to send you a few of us, but he wasn't sure if you were going to be okay." He looked strangely at Sasuke then, as if confused by this. Sasuke vaguely wondered if Naruto's clones knew about the genjutsu in detail.

"Well, it's pretty obvious what the answer to that is, isn't it?"

The clone blinked several times at him before frowning. "You're an asshole."

"Am I supposed to be offended?" Sasuke did not think calling the clone 'dobe' was right. After all, it was just a copy. Naruto was the only one he would call a 'dobe' and feel justified in doing so.

The clone rolled its eyes. "Whatever. I better tell this to the boss then." He ran back the way he came. Sasuke went back to reading the scroll in his hands.

In a few moments another clone appeared from around the end of the row. "Oi Sasuke-teme," it greeted him with a wide grin. "Boss sent two of us to help. My buddy went over to the far end of the shelves. So where am I supposed to be looking?"

Sasuke returned the scroll and plucked a new one off the shelf. He turned to the scroll. "I'll rummage through this side, you look through these." He pointed to the row behind him.

"Alright." The clone hummed a nameless tune as he went on tiptoes and pulled a scroll from the top shelf, scanning through it.

Sasuke read through the first five lines of the scroll in his hand before rolling it close and pulling out another one. It was only a scroll about Konoha trade traffic, nothing more. He returned that, too, and picked another scroll, which looked a bit older than the rest. That one contained details on creating weapons. Still another one contained instructions on basic Academy jutsus. His eyebrow rose when he found a scroll on unique recipes found only in Konoha.

"I didn't know there were native dishes unique to the village," he muttered, as he rolled up the scroll.

The clone stirred behind him, turning its head. "Really? Can I see that?" he looked uniquely interested.

Sasuke wordlessly handed the scroll over to the clone, inwardly surprised. He watched as the clone opened the scroll and scanned through the recipes. "Hey look! There's a recipe for Konoha-style pork ramen! Cool!"

Sasuke could feel his lips twitch. Even Naruto's clones get excited over ramen.

"Hey, this looks easy to prepare! Oi Sasuke-teme, can boss borrow this?"

For the moment letting the insult slide, Sasuke regarded the clone with barely hidden astonishment. "Naruto can cook?"

The clone looked mildly insulted. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean? Boss has been living by himself since he was six. 'Course he can cook." The clone shrugged as he put the scroll down on the floor near where he was currently sitting cross-legged. "We like ramen the best, but that doesn't mean it's all he ever eats."

Sasuke snorted. "From what I've seen, it's all he ever wolfs down."

"Meh. Boss only cooks when he feels like it. It's a bother shopping for ingredients, too. So anyway, he can borrow this, right?" he pointed to the scroll beside him.

Sasuke shrugged. "Just make sure he returns it." He watched as the clone went back to scanning more scrolls, pondering on his new-found knowledge of Naruto.

When he thought of it, he knew next to nothing about the dobe. Sure they graduated from the Academy together, but aside from that, what did he know, really? Naruto's background had always been a curiosity for most of their classmates, but Sasuke had paid no more attention to it than he did to Sakura and Ino's blatant attempts to flirt with him. He glanced back at the clone, still poring over a scroll.

"Hey."

The clone looked up. "What?" he asked, nonplussed.

Sasuke debated over what he should ask first. "You said the dob—Naruto has been living alone since he was a kid. So where _does_ he live?"

The clone blinked at him. "There are these apartments the Hokage donated to war veterans and homeless civilians in the Southern District. Boss lives there."

_Too vague._ "Where over there?" he asked dryly.

The clone frowned. "Why do you want to know anyway?"

_Good question._ "So I'd know where to look for him if I find something out about the genjutsu, on the chance that I find anything, that is, when I decide to search on my own."

The clone seemed a bit reluctant, frowning deeply. Sasuke raised an eyebrow nonchalantly. "Afraid the dobe'd get angry?"

The frown changed into a scowl. "Why should I be? I'm essentially him, you know. Boss can't be angry at himself." The clone rolled his eyes. "It's just that nobody's ever asked before. I suppose it's alright, though."

_Nobody? At all?_ "Then what's his address?"

The clone told him. "Just don't go spreading that around, alright?"

Sasuke's response was to raise an eyebrow. The clone snorted. "Want the boss to tell all your fangirls exactly how to get inside your house?"

_Hn. He has a point._ "Fine," he relented, filing away Naruto's address for later. He had not been able to learn about Naruto's address that time he had bought a take-out bowl of ramen for Naruto's birthday; the proprietor's daughter—Ayame—had volunteered to deliver the ramen personally, and had not bothered to ask Sasuke where Naruto lived. It suited Sasuke just fine that time; less bother for him.

But now…that meant she knew exactly where Naruto's apartment was. The thought actually annoyed Sasuke for some reason, but he paid it no mind for the moment; he was already thinking of the next question to ask. "So Naruto was orphaned when he was six?"

"No," the clone shook its head. "Boss has been an orphan since he was born."

Now this was something Sasuke did not know. "He grew up in an orphanage?"

"He didn't stay in those places for very long. Nah, it was mostly the old man who took care of him."

_Old man?_ "You mean the Sandaime?" Sasuke could not help the slight awe his voice contained at the question.

The clone shrugged. "That's what I said, didn't I?"

Now why would the Sandaime take such personal interest in Naruto's wellbeing? He _was_ Hokage, but that didn't mean he took care of all the orphans in the village. He sat down cross legged on the floor, directly across from the clone, and took out a scroll on the bottom shelf, opening it in his lap and pretending to read. "So…how did Naruto end up an orphan, anyway?"

Sasuke looked up just in time to see the clone tense up, shaking its head. "You know what happened during that time…"

Sasuke quickly did the math. Ah. "During the Kyuubi attack?"

The clone tensed again. "Y-yeah."

Thinking that it was too personal a topic, Sasuke decided to steer the conversation away to other things. "By the way, how does Naruto know the Hyuuga?"

The clone looked confusingly at him. "Who? Neji or Hinata-chan?"

"He knows them both?"

"Sure," the clone replied. "Hinata-chan's pretty nice to the boss. She talks to him whenever they meet. They talk a lot."

Sasuke did not notice the frown on his face. "Since when?"

"When? Well…she'd been the boss's seatmate during a few classes at the Academy. Then after graduation he'd come across her and Kurenai-sensei's team at the training grounds."

_Hn._ "And Neji?"

"He was boss's opponent during the last round of the Chuunin exams," the clone answered with a grin. "Heh, we kicked his ass big-time. After that boss had been passing him often in the streets. They've eaten at Ichiraku's together once or twice, but not often, though. Usually they spar when you're not around. Oh yeah! There was this one time that he sparred with Neji and thickbrows-Lee…"

Sasuke let the clone talk, content only to listen. He was surprised to learn that Naruto was friends with virtually _all_ of the rookies who had taken the Chuunin exams with them, including Hyuuga Neji's team. When the clone repeated that Naruto often spent time sparring with Neji whenever he was busy with his personal training, Sasuke made a mental note to spar with Naruto every chance he got.

When the clone proceeded to talk about Iruka, Sasuke interrupted him. "I know about Iruka-sensei. Naruto mentions him a lot."

The clone grinned, obviously very happy talking about Iruka-sensei. "He's really very nice! He visits boss a lot!"

Sasuke's eyes landed on the scroll near the clone. "Aside from cooking, does Naruto have any other skill he's been hiding?"

"What do you mean? Boss wasn't hiding about that."

"I've never heard about it."

"Have you ever asked him?"

Sasuke blinked. "No," he admitted.

"There's your problem, then." The clone shrugged, then continued reading the scroll in its hands. After a while he put it away and pulled out another one. "How many scrolls do we have to go through, anyway?" he grumbled.

Sasuke had to think about his words before he could understand. "We need to look at everything until we find the scroll we need."

"Hmph." The clone made an irritated face, then went back to reading. Sasuke did the same.

After some time, it was the clone who spoke up.

"Ano sa, ano sa…"

Sasuke looked up, his face mildly intrigued. The clone tilted its head at him from across the narrow passageway between the shelves. "Why did you ask all those things about boss?"

_Great. Of all the clones that dobe sent, he sends the most inquisitive. Wait, do clones even have personalities? _Outwardly he shrugged as casually as he could. "Nothing. I was curious."

The clone stared blankly at him for a long time. Finally, "You're lying."

Sasuke scowled instantly. "No I'm not."

"You are," the clone insisted. "You've never been curious about anything before."

"How would you know?"

"I share boss's memories."

_Damn._ "I was too busy with training and the Chuunin exams before. And Naruto was never more than a classmate before we ended up in the same team."

"Hmm…I think it was the same with boss," the clone replied, unexpectedly. He seemed thoughtful. "He was always annoyed about how much of a bastard you were before, but he'd never thought much about you, too." He missed the dangerous twitch of Sasuke's eyebrow. "But now's better I guess."

Sasuke's scowl faded a bit. "How so?"

"Well, boss has you and the others as his friends," the clone pointed out. "Then there's Kakashi-sensei. And then there's Ero-sennin, Tsunade-baa chan, and Iruka-sensei." The clone grinned. "You're all his precious people, you know."

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. A foreign feeling seemed to expand in his chest, oddly making him feel…light.

"Hey. Sasuke-teme. You alright? You look funny."

Sasuke turned to the clone with a scowl on his face. "Call me 'teme' again and I won't hesitate to pincushion you with kunai." He paused. "And I don't look funny."

The clone pulled out his tongue at him. "You wouldn't dare. That'd be like murdering a teammate." The clone yelped when a kunai suddenly twanged resonantly as it embedded itself in the shelf a few inches from its left ear. Sasuke smirked.

"Lucky for you I missed."

The clone glared at him. "Asshole."

Sasuke's smirk only deepened.

NxS NxS NxS

_End Chapter 8._


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